Two old heroes, one new threat
by skillfulstone
Summary: Batman's world is in great danger and this time he will have help from a new superhero, different as they are, it is their alliance that will make the difference in this battle. I do not own any character or location, they belong to they're respective owners.
1. The Responsibility

Disclaimer : I don't own any of the Marvel or DC characters, this is purely a fanfic for entertainment

 **The Responsibility**

There isn't much to explain for my current… Let's call it "situation" because there is no other way I could put it…

I am Peter Parker aka Spider-man, and yesterday I was a popular superhero, and by popular I mean about half of the people of New York doesn't know how to look at my actions despite all I do for them. None of that mattered to me because I did not expect reward for my actions, it was my choice and I decided to use my abilities to help and make a better city, even sometimes helping entire worlds. And when I see everything I did, I regret none of it. It is my responsibility to give others hope, give them a vision of security. It is also my responsibilities that put me in my current predicament…..

 **1 Day before….**

"Whoa!" I yelled as a sudden purple vortex grabbed me mid-swing and made me land in a weird black and purple void. "I hate it when she does that, no one taught her to, you know, WARN people before making them fall"

"Did I hear well?" The old women seated in a giant "Web-throne" said. "It is not the first time I do this, yet you complain almost every time."

"Sorry for that Madam Web, but what is it this time? Please don't tell me that I have to go to a world controlled by the Sinister Six, assisted by Doom and that I will have to fight two unicorn gods hell bent on killing me because I swear to god I…". I shut my mouth when I realised that she was smiling at me.

"You're wrong Spider-man, but the task ahead is no joking matter." This last comment made me almost cry under my mask….

"An entire world is in danger, and even the heroes who are already in this world won't be able to save it without help" she continued. "I sense the questions in you, do not worry, I arranged with some authorities that your absence will go unnoticed by everyone."

It took me about four seconds to understand her words, and two others to MAKE SURE I understood them right…For a second I thought that it was gonna be a normal day but no, then I remembered my mantra and I raised my head.

"Allright Madam Web, what's happening over there? If I may ask."

"I unfortunately do not have enough details to help you much because of the thin link between our world and theirs, but you have to find a way to contact and help the hero of this city, I am sorry I cannot be of more assistance Spider-man, I wish I could be, for your sake…Good luck"

As I was about to say something, she pointed a hand at me and I was thrown, again in another vortex, I did not count the time I was falling, but I'm pretty sure my stomach did it for me. I could only think about one cruel, unanswered question: How long will I be gone?

 **Present time…**

The purple vortex vanished and I found myself falling, still dizzy, from the sky in my normal clothes but my web-shooters still on my wrists. As I neared impact I shot a web on a building to slow the fall….only to realise that in my confusion I shot too high and the web slowed my impact, but not that much.

I felt the trash container's top bend under my weight, if I didn't have my superhuman durability, I would be dead. I dizzily mumbled "Everyone please feel free to empty your bowels on the right and then crawl to the nearest place that has a roof to protect yourself from the rain on your left." With these word and a small chuckle at my horrible sarcasm I got out of the container and walked through the heavy rain until I found a big empty box in an alley. I got under, and took the time to check myself: My suit was under my clothes and the mask in the back pocket of my pants, my brown shirt was now more black than brown from the rain and my brown hair was a mess, so nothing really abnormal for now. I looked at my surroundings and I saw a big panel with "Gotham Park" written on it. Great, I was in a dark city that I know absolutely nothing about and I'm supposed to save the place? Well at least there does not seem to be trouble around… _I'd better sleep on it and start searching tomorrow morning before I pass out of exhaustion._

* * *

So this is the first chapter, I know its short but I wanted to start small for the first two chapters. Tell me what you think, stay polite please. Hope you enjoyed.


	2. The Duty

A/N: Anything in _Italic_ means the character is thinking to themselves. If the Italic is between " " it means a sound.

 **The Duty**

 _Well this is not how I planned it…_ Peter said to himself while watching the new on a big board that reminded him of the giant screen J.J used to insult him during his time as Spider-man…

Peter thought that finding a costumed vigilante like himself would be easy, turns out this guy did not want to be found. Even after 2 days of following the news nothing came up except his "name" and some blurry pictures, apparently the best they could get. But today he got an idea, a bad one, but still one.

 _The guy does not want to be famous, let's see what happens when a new hero shows up and steals the spotlight, this is bound to attract his attention._ Peter thought with a smile while running to the nearest alley where he could change out of those ruined clothes in peace.

A few seconds later, Spider-man was on a rooftop looking for any sign of trouble.

 **Bruce Wayne's POV**

 _It is in those moments that I wish I did not have a keen sense of observation._ Bruce Wayne thought as he saw from the corner of his eye two hooded men approaching a nearby store, while he was casually looking at a few suits for a convention that will take place tomorrow, despite him having hundreds of expensive suits, Alfred advised him to go get a new one, even if Bruce knew all too well that it was just an excuse to stop him from over-exerting himself in training all day. As he was about to buy a great tux he heard a gun "click" behind him. At the same moment he saw the store owner push something under the desk, most likely a police alarm.

"Turn around rich boy and no sudden move or we off you!" Said one of the men with a 9mm pointed at him while the other man was seemingly nervous, most likely because he was unexperienced, judging by the sweat and the light trembling of his hands that only someone like Wayne could detect so fast.

 _Damn, he's too far away from me to disarm him without my equipment! When did regular scum like_ _these become so daring that they threaten Bruce Wayne_ _in broad daylight?_

As soon as he turned around the unarmed man approached him and put cuffs on his wrists. Bruce briefly looked at the cuffs. _Cheap metal, probably stolen of found in a garbage can, easily breakable with a well-aimed knee strike to the chain._ As the nervous man dragged him toward the door the armed man started to back up out of the store so he could stay at the same distance. _This guy is no ordinary thief, he knows how to handle a weapon, and he keeps his distance, taking no chances._ What Bruce found strange is that the men did not try to steal his wallet, it looked like they were trying to leave with him. The instant they got out of the store the armed man heard sirens and pointed his gun at him yelled to the pedestrians outside.

"ANYONE TRIES TO STOP US WE KILL THE GUY!"

Every witness on the street gasped while police cars arrived and braked while the two men started to back up from the officers yelling them the usual warnings.

 _Why would they try something like this? Even if they kill me there is no way they are going to get away free from this. There is definitely someone behind this, someone who knows me._ Bruce thought while waiting for an opening to make the nervous man trip without showing that Bruce Wayne could effortlessly throw a man several feet away. The cops were slowly following when suddenly they stopped and looked behind me.

" _Thwip..Thwip"_

"Hey guys, don't you know it's not legal to kidnap a man during his shopping?" A mocking and young voice said.

Bruce saw the man grabbing him turn his head and he faked to trip while hitting the man's foot, making them fall together. He rolled on his back to see the owner of the voice and what he saw would have paralyzed almost any man except him. It was a man, maybe 1 foot shorter than him, dressed in a spandex full body-suit. The suit was almost entirely red with the exception of the legs and under his arm and sides which were blue. There was a black web-like pattern all over the suit with a small black spider symbol on the center of his chest, but the thing that attracted Bruce's attention more is the two giant white lenses on his mask. _Special lenses, he can see out but no one can see in, practical._ For a brief second, he mistook him with the Black Spider but he quickly noticed the behavior and body differences. Bruce then noticed the armed man was hanging upside-down from some sort of transparent web behind the costumed man. The now terrified man saw this and gawked for a second before speaking.

"Wh…Who are you?!" The man asked while getting up.

"Why, I'm just your friendly neighborhood Spider-man, and you are the not-so-friendly guy that will go to jail for kidnapping an innocent man." Spider-man said with a cocky tone that clearly showed he was having fun mocking the thug.

The man suddenly ran toward the web-slinger and threw a punch that the latter dodged while bending backwards at incredible speed.

"Whoa! If we're gonna play limbo, at least warn me before, it's a game that requires focus you know.

With these words Spider-man just jumped towards him, threw a web-line on his foot and threw the other end up, sticking the man upside-down like his accomplice.

Bruce got up and brushed himself while the police moved forward and approached the masked man but before they could speak he spoke up.

"Thank you Spider-man." Bruce said with a smile "do you…."

"Who are you and what's happening? A familiar voice to Bruce asked from his back, commissioner Gordon walked through his men and saw everyone, nodding briefly to Bruce on the way, when he heard on the radio that the men were captured he believed he was going to meet Batman during the day, instead he was met with another costumed vigilante, although this one seemed more positive and less violent than the Bat.

Spidey finally spoke while everyone was looking at him "Well I'm Spider-man, or Spidey for my friends, and I just got those guys that were kidnapping this man."

"Why did you help? We were warned and we were going to handle it."

"I have no doubt that Gotham's finest would have saved him sir, but I did not want to take the risk they might panic and shoot him by mistake…What is that!?" Spider-man yelled while pointing behind the officers. Everyone turned around, seeing nothing they turned back to find that there was no one where the hero was standing.

"Not another one with this trick…" Grumbled Gordon while going to his men to get the crooks on the ground.

Bruce however noticed a small note on the ground, he picked it up and it said "you're welcome, from your friendly neighborhood Spider-man". He grabbed the note and after a few questions from the police officers he left to his manor.

 **A few hours later…**

Bruce Wayne rang the bell and his butler and friend Alfred opened the door while smiling a little.

"Master Bruce, are you alright? I heard on the news that you were attacked."

"I'm fine Alfred, where is Barbara?"

"In the cave sir, you will be pleased to know she already started to search for a potential mastermind behind this. What about this 'Spider-man' character? An acquaintance of yours?"

"No, but I cannot be certain of his intentions, thankfully this man was not hostile now, but I cannot help but believe this is not a coincidence that he appeared out of nowhere to save me of all people." Bruce said while calmly walking to the clock mechanism and opening the door to the cave.

"Do you not think you may overthink this Master Bruce? He is not like other masked vigilante you met before, he is certainly not trying to harm you."

The two walked the underground stairs in silence while Bruce thought about this strange individual, due to the costume, it was impossible to find any physical particularity that may compromise his true identity. He had to find who was he and what are his intentions, it would not be the first time a seemingly good individual turned out to be a monster. When they finally arrived to the computer he saw Barbara Gordon aka Batgirl typing on the computer and watching it trying to link the men to different organizations. He walked aside and opened a capsule, revealing his own suit.

"It's time to get out."

* * *

A/N: this is the second chapter, it was far longer than intended, review and tell me what you think, it always help. I do not own any character or location.


	3. The Search And the Find

_Italic_ means the character is thinking to themselves. I do not own any character or location.

 **The Search…And the find**

"We are wasting our time here…" Batgirl said to Batman as they were searching the place where Bruce was attacked earlier during the day. _I just wish he'd let it go…._

"We are not leaving until we find…"

"Help! Someone help!" A voice yelled from afar, but they still heard it.

Both dark crusaders rushed to the location they heard the voice but before they could see the owner they heard the slam of a car door. As they arrived they saw a car driving away and heard a few impact noises. Batgirl looked at Batman for a second.

"I'm taking care of this, you continue your investigation."

Batman was about to protest but then he thought that it was the opportunity to let Batgirl "fly" on her own for once. Even if he was a little worried, he saw her in action before and he has faith. _I will just rejoin with her after my search, I'm not taking any chances that this "Spider-man" vanishes._

"Fine, but keep radio contact at all time, I want to know if something goes wrong or if you find something important, understood?" Batman answered with a grave tone while looking at her directly in the eyes.

"Understood" she answered, not really fazed by the stare that scared most of his opponents. She then started to follow the trail of the car which luckily left burn marks, visibly in a hurry.

Unaware to the both of them, someone watched them from afar…

"Those two won't be a problem, Gotham is finished and so is the Bat family.

 **Elsewhere…**

Batgirl followed the car's trail to a weird warehouse which seemed full of activity for the middle of the night. She watched the warehouse from an adjacent building. She used her grappling hook then glided to silently land on the roof of the place where the car seemed to have stopped.

"Move, don't waste time! We already failed once, we need to succeed this time." A grumpy voice said from below.

Barbara watched below and saw Cobblepot aka The Penguin entering the warehouse. She went to one of the windows and silently opened it. But just before she went through it she thought she heard something and turned around. _Nothing, great Barbara, the second you are on your own you start to hear things._

She went in and quickly grappled to a metal beam to watch from above, what she saw almost paralyzed her, without her training with Batman she would have fainted. _All here, they are all here, never thought I'd say this, but I wished Batman was there for once._ Batgirl almost gawked as she counted roughly one hundred men walking around with various crates. Two of the men were dragging a man whom seemed in bad shape and threw him on his knees in front of Penguin. After a good look she saw that the man in question was one of the men that tried to kidnap Bruce yesterday. She pressed a button on her wrist and she whispered.

"Batman, this is Batgirl, I found Penguin and about a hundred of his henchmen in a warehouse, join me when you can, they seem to have kidnaped…Well one of the men that tried to kidnap Bruce Wayne, I'm watching for now, Batgirl out." With those word she closed the incorporated radio.

"You do realise it was troublesome to get you out of your cell mate?" The Penguin said to the kneeling man. "That cop asked for a lot of money to let you out, we got you out for just one reason: How in the hell did you fail to capture an unarmed Bruce Wayne!?" The man flinched a little at the yells of the little man.

"It…It was my partner who had the weapon, we were caught by a guy in a costume!"

"Don't lie! The Bat does not show up during the day and the police doesn't have the guts to risk shooting Wayne, much less follow you while having a hostage!

"It wasn't the Bat, it was some guy who calls himself Spider-man, and he got the drop on us."

"You saying some costumed clown took down the both of you without touching you? You had no wounds, not even a bruise, when we got you out." He made a small sign to some of his men. "Get rid of this guy, maybe the next time I will get someone competent that can capture a regular man and not lie about it."

As Batgirl was about to jump down she heard her wrist radio blink, she answered.

"Batgirl, you may want to hold back, the police is on its way, they received an anonymous tip that there was criminal activity in the warehouse. I am close, we will get them together, don't do this on your own." Batman warned over the comm. Barbara nodded but then the beam she was on suddenly half-collapsed and, caught off guard, she did not have time to grapple up and landed on the ground, just a few meters away from Penguin.

"What do we have here? The Bat's little sidekick, and on her own no less." Every men turned to her as she got up and in a fighting stance. "You don't stand a chance against all of us alone Batgirl."

 _He's right, but I just have to fight until Batman and the police gets here._

Just as she was about to start fighting a yell was heard then a man yelled and fell to the ground.

"It's the Bat! He's here!" Penguin shouted to his men.

"No, it's just the lie your man told you" a young voice said from above.

Everyone looked up at the same time and Spider-man was there, hanging upside-down from a web line. One of the men threw a crate at him and at incredible speed he jumped away and, to everyone's stupefaction, stuck to the wall he arrived on. Everyone was staring at him, including Batgirl who was relieved and slightly afraid that the man they were searching for was here. He was just slightly bulkier than her, but his tight costume showed he was incredibly muscular for his size and youth.

"Seriously guys? I mean I know that picking on girls is easy, but I would have thought that the Penguin himself would be capable of fighting his own battles, and not relying on dumb brutes…Not that you're any smarter, you did not even thought to watch the news?" Spider-man mocked in a cocky voice. "Well I guess you can't be smart while being lazy. The car your guy used was leaving marks all over the place, did not have enough funds to get good tires?"

Batgirl almost choked when she heard him openly insulting a crime boss with a massive amount of men with him. Then she saw Penguin's face, as red as a tomato.

"Everyone! Squash this bug and bring me his head NOW!"

With these words, Spider-man dropped on the ground in a flip and landed in front of the men, looking relaxed while all henchmen charged at him, completely forgetting Batgirl, who took advantage of it and turned to Cobblepot, only to find out that he fled in the confusion. She silently cursed and turned to the hero, expecting him to be overwhelmed. But what she saw made her almost take a step back.

He was jumping all around, ricocheting everywhere at blinding speed, she could barely follow his exact movement, and he did not even seemed fazed by the amount of men.

"Such bodyguards you are! Not even capable of squashing one little spider." He jumped over a guy, using his momentum to kick the man in the back, sending him on the ground. "I've fought kids that gave me more trouble than all of you, combined" "I think you may be able to punch me once, because I'm gonna fall asleep of boredom!"

When the mass of men finally lessened, Batgirl joined the fight and started to fight with him, still amazed by his speed and the fact he did not seemed to tire out even with the acrobatic moves and speed he was displaying. After a few seconds there was only the frightened man on the ground looking at the two heroes in horror. Spider-man casually walked to him…shot a web on his foot and threw him up, sticking him upside-down like last time.

"NO! Not again…" The man complained before fainting.

Spider-man threw webs with both his hands and stuck the mass of unconscious men together then turned to Batgirl. And neither of them talked, they gave each other a look-over. Batgirl walked closer to him, not certain of his reaction, but far less cautious about him than before.

 _I don't know if its luck or bad luck that made me help the richest man in town then the prettiest hero I ever saw in my...What!? Why did I think that?_ Peter thought while being thankful that his mask hid his face.

"Thanks for the help Spider-man." She said. "Can you tell…"

 _Spider-Sense!_ Spider-man looked up and saw the beam over them completely collapse, in a split second he pushed Batgirl out of the way…but did not thought of anything after. And the heavy steel beam fell and crashed on him, blocking him from Batgirl's view.

"Spider-man!" She screamed after the initial shock. She tried to lift the beam but she was far too weak on her own. Then she heard a small " _woof"_ behind her and when she turned she saw Batman looking at her with his eyes displaying obvious displeasure, more than usual anyway.

"Help me lift this Batman! He's under it." Batgirl asked, Batman nodded but before they could start trying they saw the beam move and took a couple steps back. After a few seconds the beam started to go up, revealing Spider-man, slowly lifting the massive beam on his own. His grunts showed his pain nonetheless.

 _He is very strong, he could be a serious threat to anyone, that beam must weigh at least five tons._ Batman thought. His train of thought was interrupted when Barbara went to him and kicked the beam while Spider-man pushed, letting the beam fall on the ground on their left. Spider-man was panting. Bruce was still watching.

"Don't worry about me, Batgirl is it? You're okay that's all that matters." The web-slinger said, slowly recovering but holding his left shoulder with his right hand.

Batman however, while grateful to him for saving Batgirl, still stomped over to him and gave him his death stare. Then looked at Batgirl.

"Why did you fight those men? I told you to wait."

"The beam was damaged and loosened just as I closed the communicator and I fell. Spider-man arrived and saved me, god knows what they would have done to me Batman."

"You're Batman?" Spider-man said while looking at him. "Finally it worked. I've been looking for you for…" He was starting to feel dizzy, the Bat-themed heroes noticed it and Barbara caught him as he fell forward. Barbara's behavior was strange to Bruce, he could not put his finger on it. Just then they heard police sirens outside the warehouse.

"Let's go before the police sees us, they might get the wrong idea." Batman said gravely and picked Spider-man from Barbara's arms, noticing that she, because of her size, would not be able to carry him and be mobile at the same time. They then grappled up and used the Batmobile when far enough away.

 **Later**

The three of them arrived in the Batcave and Alfred was quite surprised to see the colorful-suited hero unconscious with them.

"Master Br..Batman I hope that it is not you that hurt this young man?"

"No, he pushed Batgirl out of the way of a steel beam but took the blow himself, he somehow still managed to lift the beam on his own before collapsing as well." As a form of respect and thanks for saving Barbara, he did not remove his mask while he was unconscious.

"What sort of injury did he sustain sir?"

"Dislocated shoulder and internal damage, coupled with the sheer strain of lifting a five ton beam. The beam somehow did not completely broke every bone in his body but the point of impact on his left shoulder was enough to damage the muscle and cause minor internal bleeding." Batman said with no emotions. "When he awakes, we will have a long talk.

* * *

A/N: So this is the third chapter, again longer than I anticipated, I think I'm just going to write them long from now on. Hope you enjoyed, leave a review it always help.


	4. Explanations and a try

Anything in _Italic_ means the character is thinking to themeselves.

 **Explanations…and a try**

 _Ugh…Where am I?_ Thought Spider-man as he slowly opened his eyes, to his relief still under his mask. _Yeah, pretty sure I'm not dead, death does not put a bandage on your shoulder_. He did not move at first, but when he saw a man walking towards him, he suddenly bounced up, making the man jump a little. The man had short grey hair coupled with a very slim figure, probably in his mid-sixties from Peter's opinion. The man adjusted quickly then spoke in a tone that told him he was a solid man despite his age.

"I did not realize you were awake sir, if I may ask, how are you feeling?"

Spider-man was puzzled by the man's question, but then snapped to reality after a quick look around him: A cave, with the ceiling seemingly crawling with bats, _if I'm not in Batman's "house" I'm not Spider-man._ He positioned himself in his trademark crouching pose, noticing that he was on what looked like a hospital bed.

"Well I feel better, but I'd be even better if I had some explanation on my situation mister. But more importantly:" He suddenly spoke a little seriously. "Did you remove my mask?" The man smiled a little.

"Do not worry Spider-man, we did not" He looked behind him. "He made sure of it."

From behind him Batman appeared, _no Spider-sense, no danger._ Spider-man thought as the familiar tingle did not manifest despite the grave look on the dark knight's face.

Batman on the other hand was tensed. _How did he recover so quickly? No one heals from an internal wound within one hour._ He also wondered why the hero did not show any sign of nervousness, nothing in his body language showed stress, he was impressed yet still cautious. When he was close Spider-man got down from the bed and stood in front of him, the young hero was about a foot smaller than him.

"So you're Batman huh? Gotta admit, you're more impressive in person than on a blurry picture someone took by luck." The web-slinger said "I've been looking for you for a while now."

"Why were you searching for me?" He simply answered.

Spider-man had to answer quickly. _I can't tell him the full truth, he'll think I'm crazy, but I won't lie_ _either_. "Why would someone fighting crime looking for you? Well I want to…"

"He's awake?" A feminine voice said.

Peter turned around to see Batgirl joining them, he had a blank until he was snapped to reality by the stern expression Batman was giving him.

"Long story short: I'm looking to work with you, this city needs more people that care, I saw Gotham and I knew why they needed someone like us, people who are not afraid." Spider-man said with determination.

"Then you know why, even if I'm grateful for your help, I am still skeptical about you."

"You don't trust me, I get it." Spider-man was starting to be confused again. "You don't know me or my possible motives for my actions, by the way, glad you're okay." He said while turning to Batgirl. She wanted to answer but knew that Bruce was doing his questioning.

"Trust must be earned, I did not remove your mask even when I could, as appreciation for your help." "But even my computer could not find any hero like you in any record, so I'm asking you to answer my questions, starting with your reason for being Spider-man and your story."

Spider-man seemed in thought for a second _That I can tell the truth about_. He jumped back on the bed while everybody looked at him, he knew he had to be as honest as possible and serious, more so with the reputation Batman had.

"You already know that I have superpowers, I gained them by complete accident three years ago. I got bit by a radioactive spider during a science tour" Batman slightly raised a brow at the irony "I did not think it would have such effects on the spot so I did not tell anyone at the time. When I discovered my powers…"

"What can you do?" Batgirl interrupted.

"Uh…I can stick to any surface at-will, I have superhuman strength and speed and I have a "Spider-sense" that warns me of any impending danger. The webs is from a small gadget I made myself."

"So when I discovered my powers, I tried to cash in on them and made this costume to fight in an underground wrestling match against a giant brute." Everyone suddenly felt a great sadness entering Spider-man's voice despite him. "I won of course, but after I got paid, a thief robbed the organizer of the match, he was running towards me and a guard was behind him telling me to stop him." He turned his head a little. "I did not do anything, judging it was not my problem and that I was not a cop. A few hours later I came back home and I found out by a policeman that a thief had shot and killed the man that raised me. Full of anger I put on my suit and went after him myself. I cornered him in an old warehouse, the cops had surrounded the building but were not going in because he was armed. I disarmed him but when I saw his face I recognized him: it was the man I did not stop. Because of my selfishness, I lost my father figure. I was about to kill him, but I remembered something he told me: With great power comes great responsibility, so I left him to the cops. Since then I used my powers to do what no one else could. It is not by guilt that I do what I do, it is simply because it is the right thing. I was until now pretty much a solo hero, even the police did not like me. But I learned that there was other heroes here. So I moved here but stayed discreet while looking for you until a few days ago when I had to come out to save that Bruce Wayne from two thugs. You know the rest," He finally finished, it's just then that he saw the trace of sadness in Batman's eyes, sadness that quickly dissipated.

 _He's telling the truth, no doubt. Maybe he could be an ally after all…_ Batman thought.

There was no sound in the cave, Spider-man was still recovering from the memory and everyone else was taking in what he said. Batgirl was the first to speak up.

"I'm sorry for your loss, this should never happen to anyone."

Spider-man nodded to her than smiled weakly under his mask.

"Thanks, but like my old girlfriend who knew my secret told me: if it wasn't for that, maybe there would not be Spider-man, this event and my uncle's words defined me."

Batman looked at him then after a long, painful stare, he finally spoke.

"If you're really serious about helping this city, you must first earn our trust. And for that we must know you. Why are you wearing a mask? I know many heroes that do not wear masks."

"Mainly to protect my close ones, if my enemies knew who I was they would become a target. But it's also because I don't think Spider-man is supposed to have a real name, he could be anyone, and that's my point, I'm trying to give people hope. Although my many nicknames and my personality sometimes exasperate people, it's just who I am, your friendly neighborhood Spider-man." With these words he slightly turned to Batgirl.

Batman seemed in thoughts again. _Despite being different in our image, we both had a motive and a purpose. Maybe I was wrong, he is worthy of at least a try, but there is still some explaining to do. I also don't like how he looks at her, because I can't know how he looks at her under that mask._

 _I hope he believes me and I can join him, when I learn what this threat is I will tell him. And who knows, I may like it here._ Spider-man thought a little dreamily.

"Spider-man, until I am certain you can be one of us, we will keep our true identities hidden from each other, I'm sure you understand. But first I will make sure you can truly withstand the criminals out there."

"Pretty sure that if all the crime bosses are as stupid as that Penguin guy, we won't have any problem…" The stare he received from Batman froze him, Spider-sense or not.

 _Allrighty, no underestimating the criminals of this place._ Spider-man noted.

"Trust me, some of the worst beings are here, I have no doubt you faced dangerous criminals, but an advice: Never underestimate your opponent. Especially the ones here."

"Will do and duly noted Batman." _Jeez this guy is serious._

"If I may ask, where do you come from Spider-man?"

 _Damn, the million dollar question that I did NOT want to hear…let's improvise"_

"I started in Metropolis but I stayed discreet, that's probably why you don't have records of me."

 _He's lying._ Batman thought. _Even with the suit I can tell with his slight hesitation, even if it is plausible that one hero would be overlooked, the Batcomputer would have found the appearance of a wrestling amateur followed by a murder. He must have his reasons, since he did not lie about anything else, but I will find out, sooner or later._

Batgirl went to the Batcomputer and started searching for any accidents in any lab in Metropolis in the last four years, many came up, and it would take some time to narrow the search to 1 since the young hero kept the accident to himself, leaving the computer with only mere records to work with.

Spider-man saw this and sweat-dropped in his mind. That was not in the plan.

Batman was skeptic, but after a few seconds he made a decision. _I only hope I'm not making a mistake_. "Your honesty and your motive are noble, but it takes more than good intentions to be with us. I will make you pass a series of tests to find out if you really have what it takes, I warn you, those tests will be harsh and will prove to me your resolve and your skills, mind and body. Because some of the criminals in Gotham are far more than thugs relying on others." Spider-man almost choked but kept his cool. "I am asking only once: Are you ready to do whatever it takes to fight crime?" It was a trick question that few people ever answered right.

"Yes, but I will never take a life." Again the young hero surprised Batman, they shared the same rule, another proof of his resolve. _It is much harder to spare than to kill, that I know._ Batman approved in his mind.

 _Question 1: Complete._ Spider-man said to himself after seeing the shadow of an approbation look on Batman's face, well jaw.

"If I may ask, how do I call you?"

"No nickname." Batman simply responded. Spider-man almost laughed at his tone.

"Your first test is not a test of brawn, those will come later, I must first make sure of your mind's resistance, come with me."

Spider-man followed him as the old man was leaving through at long stairwell. Batgirl followed them and walked beside him.

"Don't worry, I passed those tests, I'm sure you can." She said.

"Not to sound weird or anything, but I'm sure that we are not going to have the same tests. And furthermore, I may have superpowers, but I don't have your experience, I'm not necessarily your superior."

Batman was listening to every word that was said and still was impressed by his humility despite his powers, many meta-humans would brag about their abilities, he really was a rare case. Although his way of speaking was slightly annoying at times.

A few minutes later they arrived at some sort of giant lab. Batman grabbed some sort of injector and filled it with an orange liquid. Batgirl immediately approached Batman, leaving a confused Spider-man behind.

"You're not serious are you? Fear toxin as a test? I never received that kind of treatment…Why him?" Barbara whispered as they were several meters from the web-slinger who was scratching the back of his head while waiting.

"It's not pure Fear toxin, I modified it to create mere hallucinations, not bring people to suicide if that's what you're implying, I also made a slight change in the formula that will lightly hurt him so his Spider-sense will not break the illusion by not triggering. You don't argue what you don't know. I want to know how he will react to these visions." With those words he walked passed her and went to Spider-man, who stopped his daydreaming to watch the injector and Batman one after the other.

"This will tell me if you can control your emotions and your choices during stressful situations, such situations you will surely encounter out there, I will monitor the test, are you ready?"

Spider-man was not expecting something like that as a first test, but he remembered his mission and knew that backing out was not an option. He nodded. Batman gave him the injector and the two bat-heroes backed up, Batgirl with worry in her eyes. After a brief look he injected himself in the arm. He felt nothing then started to feel dizzy.

 _Not sure now if it was such a good idea…_ Spider-man grunted before falling on one knee.

 **In Spidey's mind…**

Peter stood up to see he was on a skyscraper's roof.

 _What!? How did I end up here? Madam Web called me back?_ He looked around him and saw New York. Then he heard an explosion followed by an evil laugh. _Spider-sense!_ He quickly jumped to see the Green Goblin pass under him with his glider.

"You again! Guess I'll have to get you in jail again Norman!" Spider-man said in a slightly venomous tone. _Calm down Peter, don't make the same mistake as last time._ He was about to jump when his Spider-sense rang again. He jumped and off the building when the glider suddenly shot a missile at him.

 _Damn, the missile is guided._ Peter thought when he saw the rocket turn to follow him in his fall, it was too small to kill him, but enough to kill normal people. He started to web swing between buildings, still hearing the laugh of the Goblin behind him and the motor of the missile. After several minutes of chase, the missile suddenly turned and went downward. After looking back Spidey saw the new direction of the missile: a school on the street.

 _You monster!_ Shouted Spider-man in his head as he used his webs to accelerate his fall to catch up with the missile. When he was close enough he threw a web at it, and a web on the Glider behind him, and pulled with all his strength.

The missile stopped a few meters from the school and was thrown backwards, Peter let go of the webs and watched as the missile exploded in the Goblin's own glider, making him fall from it. He launched a web at Norman and pulled them together. When they were close to the ground he slowed their fall with a web. Everybody on the street was gawking at the scene as Spidey arrived on the ground and dropped the Goblin who was still weakly laughing at Spider-man.

"What's so funny Gobby? Can't accept failure?" Spider-man mocked. The Goblin suddenly stood up and threw a bomb at a nearby building. The bomb destroyed one of the pillars and Spider-man turned while the glider somehow reappeared and Norman jumped on it.

"So what's it gonna be Spider-man? Stop me and send me to jail or save these people? Hahahaha!" He said as he flew away.

Spider-man did not lose a second and dashed to the building where he started to stick the remains broken pillar to the ground to stabilize the foundation. _I can't let anyone stay here!_ As he started to get people out everything went dark and he awoke in a warehouse.

 _What the hell!? What is happening? That's the warehouse where I fought those thugs, I'm back in Gotham!_ He was completely lost until a grumpy voice saying:

"It's your fault."

"What?" He turned back to see the Penguin holding what looked like a photo under his arm.

"What's that you got there little bird? Taunting the guy that kicked your men's butt is not that smart."

"It wasn't smart to defy me either hehe" he said while smiling and threw the photo at Spidey. He looked at it and saw dozens of people in body bags. He raised his head at Penguin who was smiling. "You should not have mocked me mate, I never kill for fun."

With these words Spider-man jumped on him in an instant and lifted him in the air, then threw him several meters away, landing in boxes. He threw a web and pulled him back to him, punching the little man mid-flight as he was coming back, knocking him out cold. Peter looked at the photo then realized something: When Madam Web transports him there's always a purple vortex, and his Spider-sense never triggered when Penguin sneaked up in him, and he was a threat, not a physical threat but still…Then he remembered the test. He webbed the Penguin on the ground and looked around him, then closed his eyes.

 **In reality…**

Batman was watching as Spider-man was slowly standing up and shook himself.

 _He seemed to be resistant to toxins, he recovered quickly. He still made the right choices despite his enemies killing people._

As Spidey stood up completely and opened his eyes to see the Batcave he made a loud sigh.

"Congratulation Spider-man, you managed to stay true to your oath despite the death around you. Tell me, what happened with this man on the glider that made you see him? Remember to be honest."

Peter lowered his head and flexed his fists for a second before relaxing again.

"He killed someone I loved years ago. He said it's my fault."

"Did you ever thought about killing him?"

"Yes, when it happened I almost did, I was no longer holding back and he was cornered, but I stopped and left him on the ground, bringing my girlfriend's body…"He stopped when Batman made a "stop" sign with his hand.

"No need to say more, your next test will have to wait for tomorrow night. Join me at the clock tower tomorrow night, don't be late, Batgirl, help him find his way out." He then turned and started to type on another computer in the room. Batgirl went to him and showed Spidey the way.

"You did great back there. How did you know it was the test?"

"My Spider-sense did not trigger when I was with…Wait you knew everything?"

"Yeah your visions were being showed to us by the computer, by the way let me remove that." She put her hand on each side of Spider-man's head, which made him stop breathing, then saw Batgirl showing two little grey squares in her hand.

"Batman put those on you before the test so the computer relayed what you were seeing to us."

"Sweet gadget to have, the guy must be super rich to have all that."

"Yeah you think the same way I did when he showed me around. There's the exit."

"Seriously? I can't leave through the door?" Spider-man pouted as Batgirl pressed on a button and a small opening on the very high ceiling opened.

"You can't see where you are yet, this tunnel will lead you to the city. Goodbye Spider-man."

"See you soon Batgirl" He jumped on the wall and just climbed to the opening.

 **In the lab…**

 _He's noble and has heart, I will test his awareness tomorrow, now something else: the convention tomorrow morning._ Batman thought as he recorded the results of his test, in the process saving the name of the villain he fought in his "dream".

"Tomorrow is going to be a long day…"

* * *

So this is the fourth chapter, I won't be updating for the next 2 days but i am NOT giving up on this story i have every intention of finishing it one day.

Leave a review it always help, hope you enjoyed!


	5. Homework and an Opportunity

Anything in _Italic_ means the character is thinking to themselves

 **Homework and an opportunity**

 _Well then, time to do some homework on this place before I pass Batman's next test, I still can't believe the guy tested my resolve like this, I'm lucky I was smart on this one._ Spider-man thought as he jumped out of the tunnel-exit that Batgirl made him use, he ended up in some sort of alley and as soon as he was out he looked back to see the ground seemingly closing itself to conceal the hole.

 _Damn the guy must be as loaded as Tony Stark to have this stuff._

It was broad daylight and Peter quickly looked around before changing out of his costume in his normal clothes, as normal as dirty clothes can be. _I really need to make some money to get some equipment and clothes, web-fluid won't last forever if I have to fight every day._

Peter walked out of the alley and picked up a newspaper in a trashcan.

It read on the front page: **group of Penguin's thugs found in giant web, who is this new vigilante?**

Peter smiled to himself, at least Spider-man was gaining reputation. Too bad Peter was not. He started to walk, asking directions along the way because of his minor knowledge of Gotham. He had to find a way to get money somehow, just enough to buy a camera and a new shirt.

As he passed a street almost devoid of life he saw a group of men walking out of an hotel together. His Spider-sense was going crazy by just their mere presence. He could not change right now but he could at least follow as an innocent and homeless 19 year-old.

 _Sometimes looking harmless has its perks._ He thought while following the men from afar. The men looked like the most cliché criminals in the world: hoodies, hands in pocket, one of the five seemed almost made of muscle, not as much as Batman, but still.

He followed them, staying out of sight, sometimes hiding behind other people along the way, which was getting harder as the thugs were moving towards the outskirts of the city. As he was starting to wonder where on earth they were going, he suddenly saw on the horizon a big manor. As his common sense told him, he braced himself for the inevitable conflict. Which never came since they stopped at the gate leading to the manor and seemingly spoke through a cellphone one of the men got out. He leaned on the wall of a shop and focused to try and hear what they said, he only heard fragments.

"Not there…Wayne…all of them?...When…Done."

Even with just the parts he heard he could put two and two together: That Bruce Wayne really was a desired target. He only hoped he could somehow find him before they did. He left their trail and ran. Luckily by now he knew a little about this part of the city and he knew the best bet to find a rich guy: the commercial street closest to his manor.

He remembered the guy from their first "meeting" and since he had a strong build for a rich guy he would be easy to find in a street full of people that were almost skeleton in comparison. When he arrived to the street he saw that pretty much everyone seemed rich, some of them glancing at him in disdain. He closed his eyes and let his Spider-sense do the work, he needed eyes all around him in the mass of people walking around. He walked around and eventually, finding nothing, did the thing that seemed the stupidest but still the most direct: he walked to someone that seemed a little less rich than the rest and directly spoke to him.

"Hello, do you know where I could find Bruce Wayne by any chance? I have some important news." _At least it gives me an excuse for searching for him._ He thought as the man in front of him rolled his eyes.

"If you're searching for rich boy, search all the overpriced clothing shop you can find. And if you find him, tell him from everyone that he deserves nothing he's got. Now go annoy him and disappear like the rest of the low-life."

It took a pretty good amount of self-control not to become angry and he just smiled, turned around and while walking said:

"Well it's not with people like you that this city will have smarter citizens, thanks for the info by the way." He then disappeared in the crowd before the man could answer back.

 _Even if the guy was an idiot, I should have thought of it, he got interrupted last time. Bad Peter._

He started to go from store to store and he finally saw Wayne. _Parker luck strikes again_. He smiles and ran to him. He waited till Bruce was in another shop and went to him.

 _This is going to be hard, I look like a poor person and the guy is the richest in town._

"Mister Wayne?"

He turned around and when he saw Peter he had not the reaction he expected. Bruce lightly smiled.

"Yes?"

"This is going to sound very crazy, but there are people waiting for you to return to your house, bad people." He thought that he would completely disregard his words but he instead frowned and got what looked like to be the most expensive cell phone he ever saw out of his pocket. He pressed a button.

"Alfred? Yes, I just heard that someone could be waiting close to the manor. Take a look." A few seconds passed then Wayne suddenly frowned deeper and his angry expression reminded Peter of Batman a little. "Noted, tell the guest that I will be late."

He closed the phone and looked at Peter again.

"I am told that there is indeed five men just outside the gates of my property but they may just be guests, I am having a big evening convention with some of my associates. Why did you tell me this?" He asked with a tone of curiosity, not one of anger like Peter would have thought.

"You were attacked recently I did not want you to be in danger that's all."

"Not many people would warn me of danger, even less someone who obviously does not live in my circle."

"Not everyone thinks that you don't deserve what you have sir, I just wanted to warn you."

Wayne seemed in thought then left the store while making a sign to Peter, who followed.

 _This young man is not "everybody" indeed, no one warns Bruce Wayne of men potentially attacking him except maybe the police, and this boy is NOT in the police_. Bruce thought, already thinking of the situation at hand, he already knew he was targeted by someone and he was convinced the men were not guests. He knew who to go to, but after he will need to speak to this young man he never saw before.

"I swear you are in danger…"

"I believe you, I am going to the police right now to tell them, you should go home. What is your name young man?"

"Peter Parker, and I actually have no home to go to."

Bruce stopped and looked at him. _There is no way someone this young and homeless would be responsible and compassionate enough to warn a rich man in this corrupted city. I have to know more about him._

Wayne got a little card from his pocket and gave it to Peter, when he looked at it he saw it was some sort of guest card.

"Don't come to the police with me, they may not believe it if they know it's coming from you. Come to my manor in one hour with this card and knock on the door. Thank you young man." With these word he shook his hand and then he climbed in a limo parked on the other side of the street.

Peter was astonished, every rich person…correction, every person in this city looked at him almost with disgust. Bruce Wayne not only believed him, but he gave him a freaking invitation to his house.

 _How messed up is that!? How can he be so different from the others? You would think he'd be even worse, being even richer, but he talked to me almost normally. Parker luck strikes AGAIN!_

He smiled for a while then started to go back to the manor, he was going to let the police do their work, but he had no intention of not watching it happen. He ran back and on the way changed to his "work uniform".

A few minutes later Spider-man was on a roof looking at the five men that were still there. _They're not very smart, waiting in the open like that, I mean anyone can see them waiting in front of the gate leading to the big ass manor owned by the richest man in town._

When he heard police sirens coming he saw the men standing up and start to run. He started to follow them by jumping from roof to roof, staying out of sight. The men stopped when they reached a dead end and turned back to see several policemen aiming their weapons at them. Among them he saw the commissioner who talked to him the last time. The police gave their usual warning and four men fell to their knees with their hand on their head. One stayed up and stared at the police force, looking completely unfazed by the weapons trained on him, he had some sort of mask on.

"It's too bad you had to involve yourselves in this, I would have preferred not to kill more than one man today." He said while looking briefly at his comrades who had given up without a fight. He slowly opened his jacket to reveal a large belt of explosive.

"Get out of our way or all of us along with the entire block goes boom." He said calmly but with an evil tone.

The police all backed up on the sight of the belt. From a brief look from Peter, that thing was no bluff, he had seen his fair share of bombs and this one was a big one. He knew what to do but it was risky with such limited space.

"You know possessing this kind of thing IS illegal right?" He said from the roof then immediately jumped at him.

The man had no time to react and Spider-man's feet connected with the belt, triggering a beeping sound.

"AH! We now have 15 seconds to…"

Spider-man ripped the belt from him and jumped while saying one last thing as he punched the man, knocking him down.

"Thank you idiot now I know how much time I have."

 _This thing is powerful enough to wipe an entire block, I won't find any empty spaces here, there's only one victimless option: the sky, let's hope for the best._ Spider-man thought when he landed on the roof and started swinging the belt like a sling and then, with all his strength, threw it towards the sky while the cops looked at it in fear.

 **In Wayne Manor…**

 _I knew he would show up, he seems to know where the police is going. Although I did not anticipate an assassination attempt of this scale._ Bruce thought as he watched the event from remote cameras at the cave. _What kind of assassins don't cover the back door? Who is targeting me to the point of sending bombed henchmen?_

 **Back with Spider-man…**

The belt launched towards the sky at incredible speed while Spidey threw webs on the men who were still down and then yelled down to the policemen that were frozen.

"GET DOWN!"

Everyone hid in their car or jumped on the ground without hesitation, the yell bringing them back to reality.

Then the belt exploded.

Even with height, the explosion's wind was felt and the sound was felt, but nothing else. He had succeeded. He got down of the roof and saw everyone looking at him.

"Everyone okay?" He asked to the policemen. The commissioner made a brief look then nodded, almost every police officers did not know what to do. The ones who wanted to arrest him for being a vigilante were either scared of him or were grateful enough not to try this time.

"That's the second time you saved lives, ours included." An officer said while walking toward him and stopping in front of him. "I am forced to say that, without your help today, I doubt anyone here would be having this conversation. Thanks Spider-man."

"No problemo, courtesy of your friendly neighborhood Spider-man, Behind you quick!"

Everyone turned in fear, when they saw nothing most of them did not even bother to look back, knowing he was gone.

From an adjacent roof, Spider-man panted a little while rubbing his hurt shoulder that he recklessly used to throw the bomb.

"Well at least I'll be going at a place where I can finally have some sort of rest." Peter mumbled to himself.

A few minutes later, after he quickly changed clothing in another alley, he walked back to the manor with his card in hand. He arrived and he saw the police leaving with the men, leaving a few policemen behind to search for anything. As he walked towards the open gate, he was stopped by a cop.

"Hey, where do you think you're going young man?"

"Uh…I have a meeting with Bruce Wayne, he invited me." He showed his card, which the cop inspected then gave back. "You are one lucky young man, I hope you know that."

"Yeah I figured that when he gave it to me."

The cop raised a brow but still made a "go away" sign and then went back to the crime scene. Peter continued his way after trying to understand what happened. Why was he so lucky?

When he arrived at the giant wooden door he almost feared the door would eat him. He knocked then Bruce himself answered.

"Ah you are here, I thought you were not going to come because of the commotion outside." Bruce said.

"Yeah one policeman tried to stop me until I showed him the card you gave me, does it have a mind-control chip on it or something?" Bruce lightly laughed at this question. Which surprised Peter as he was waiting to be scolded for not being serious.

"It's one of the perks of being very wealthy in a, sadly, very poor city." Wayne said. "While it does not control minds, the card is basically saying "Bruce Wayne is waiting for me." Which is a good argument, with the good people at least."

He opened the door and Peter froze: This place was so big he knew the bathroom alone had to be bigger than his old apartment. He just stood there, looking at the house of the only human he knew that could maybe rival Iron man in personal comfort.

"Whoa…" He just gawked while Wayne was smiling at the sight.

"Master Bruce, is this the young Peter?"

Peter turned back and froze, for another reason: He saw this man in the Batcave last night.

 _Gotta keep your cool Parker, don't mess it up yet, concentrate on the rich guy who invited you to his freaking manor._

"Yes Alfred, and he has something for you." He gave a brief look to Peter.

Peter nervously gave him the card and Alfred looked at it.

"Ah it seems Master Bruce would want to offer you a job."

"A…a…a…a..job?" Peter almost fainted from the offer.

"Yes Peter, when you told me you were homeless, and when I saw the state of your attire, I thought it would be a good occasion to give one of the few good people in this city an opportunity. There's not enough people in this city that are courageous and responsible enough like you, so I would want to offer you to be Alfred, and by extension my, assistant. You would be working and living here like Alfred.

Peter could not believe it, there was too much to digest, he had been in this world for a matter of days and he was offered a better job than he was ever offered in the last nineteen years. Even the fact about Alfred was slowly dissipating in his mind. He was starting to think that Wayne was like him, both of them were complete opposite of what you would think them to be.

The only problem in that offer was that Spider-man would basically become a night hero. Which was something he did not necessarily want because of the fact that there is more crime during the day in this place for some reason and he would not be there to stop it.

When he saw his hesitation, Bruce decided to speak more. _He really is different, he's not jumping hungrily at the money possibilities, but it is still strange coming from someone who looks like he did not properly eat for a while. I need him here._

"If you worry about your family…"

"I don't have a family sir, they abandoned me when I was young and then died in a plane crash shortly after." He decided to say the truth, at least as much as possible. But since Alfred knew Spider-man, he had to be cautious of his backstory.

"I'm sorry Peter I did not know." Bruce was truly sorry for him, he knew what a life without parents was.

"It's all right, I was adopted by strangers and in a way, I had a family, I was homeschooled by a friend of my foster dad until a few days ago."

Alfred could not help but compare Bruce and Peter, both left alone and then caught by someone who raised them right.

"A few days ago? Where are they now?" Bruce asked, almost knowing the answer."

"Gone, they left me in an alley after we were robbed and could not stay in our home any longer. They did not have enough for all of us, so they left me what I had and left. I've been alone for the last few days."

If Bruce was an ordinary man he would have choked at the story, but he was Batman, and he knew something was off: he is aware of almost any robbery, a big enough robbery so that the family really had nothing left would not stay unnoticed for long. He nonetheless put on his most compassionate look.

"I'm sorry for you, deeply sorry. I know my offer won't give you what you lost. Is that why you're hesitating?"

 _Damn he saw that…_

"No…it's just that I wouldn't want to abuse, I did not expect anything when I helped you…"

"Oh trust me young man when Master Bruce offers something, he offers it for a good reason, and you did save his life after all." Alfred assured.

"I think I know what's troubling you, do not worry about your freedom: you are not needed at the manor every day and every hour, of course when you are needed I will expect you to be present, but this is a home, not a prison."

This destroyed the doubts he had, he would still be able to be Spider-man. In any case, it would not be very different from before. If anything it would be better. He nodded to Bruce and the latter smiled.

"Very good, Alfred will first find you some suits and give you something to eat, then we will explain what the job is specifically. I have to go for a while, take care of him Alfred, he's one of us now."

 _So much for being solo here._ Peter could not help but laugh internally at his sarcasm.

"Will do sir, follow me Mr. Parker you need to change and eat before you keel over. Afterward we will have to go over the details of the job, Master Bruce will take care of getting you in Gotham's system since I doubt you are, considering your almost non-existent social path."

Peter followed him, still not really believing that he had a job on technically his first few days of existence in this world.

 **Outside…**

Bruce walked in the huge front yard of his manor while pondering Peter's very existence.

 _There's no one like him: his story, his personality, his qualities, and the complete lack of details about his family, no names, everything's off. And at the same time Peter shows up, a new costumed hero with little history appears, there's no coincidence. I have no doubt of his good intentions, but I must know my surroundings. At least the convention was reported because of the attack, which leaves me time to prepare Peter for his new job and get ready for tonight's test._

* * *

A/N: So there's the fifth chapter everyone. Thanks for the reviews so far, all of them helped.

Your reviews always help keeping the story going. So please leave a review. Hope you enjoyed.


	6. Emotions, the second test and the Truth

Anything in _Italic_ means the character is thinking.

 **Emotions, the second test and the truth**

Peter's mind was blown, there was no other way to describe it. He was about to basically have a house given to him, paychecks included. Alfred had fortunately found a suit that fitted Peter, although he advised to eventually go buy others of his personal taste. He was waiting at a giant table that looked like it would be meant for 30 people for his first real meal since 2 days.

 _Being able to last longer without eating does not equal being able to survive without any food._ Peter hungrily thought while Alfred brought him a platter. When Peter saw what was inside he almost started to drool from hunger. Which was amusing to Alfred since it reminded him of Bruce when he was younger.

"What are you waiting for? It's not going to eat itself Mr. Parker."

Peter tore through the chicken in record time under the slightly amused sight of the old man. After he was done Alfred told him to follow and Peter, with his platter, followed.

"It is now time to explain the job you will have to do in Master Bruce's manor…"

 **Later…**

"And this is where you will be staying sir." Alfred said as he opened the door to a room which, in Peter's opinion, broke reality. There was everything: a window that lead outside, a big closet, a bed that was probably meant for two, and other pieces of furniture.

"Are you sure that Mr. Wayne will accept that?"

"He chose it for you himself."

Even if Peter was still trying to get how Alfred knew Batman, his mind was blank except for the life he was being given.

"Master Bruce will join you shortly." He was about to leave when Peter stopped him.

"Thank you sir, this is probably the best gift I will ever receive in my life."

"Don't say that, you still have many years ahead of you. Arrange your room how you like while waiting if you want." With these words he left. Peter started to move some furniture so he could be comfortable, well, more comfortable anyway.

A few minutes later Bruce opened the door and looked around the room. _For a homeless boy he is quite strong, he managed to move all this by himself._ He was starting to have an answer to the existence of Peter Parker, but he still needed more proof.

"Now is the time to get you in Gotham's system since Alfred explained the job to you." He gave a watch to Peter. "This will make us able to call you if need be. Come with me, we will start by opening you a bank account so you can actually get paid, don't worry it will be linked to mine, you won't get robbed like last time." He assured.

After several hours, Peter officially had a "private" account. _Well Bruce Wayne can see it but I got nothing to hide_.

The steps had exhausted Peter and the thousands questions he was asked by the banker did not help as Bruce had to answer for most of them since he himself had no answer. He still could not believe the guy was so rich he could have a separate bank system only him and the owner could check.

"I hope it was not too tiring Peter." Bruce asked to an exhausted Peter who was barely keeping his eyes open.

"Sorry, I'm not used to this yet."

"Let's get something clear here: I want you to be honest with me, let's not start to lie to each other, I like to know my employees trust me and vice-versa."

 _Why oh why this again_. Peter thought while crying mentally.

"Of course sir…I mean Master Bruce."

Bruce smiled a little. _Even if I know he is hiding something, it was worth a try. He is too pure for his own good, he's a bad liar, he did not react when I mentioned his "family's" robbery. At least I know there is some good people in this world._

When they arrived at the manor Bruce gave a piece of paper to Peter, when he checked it he realised it was a paycheck.

"To start you up a bit, that way you can make your room like you really want and maybe go a little shopping." Bruce said to a wide-eyed Peter.

"You are sure you did put the amount you wanted?" Peter asked as he saw the three-thousand dollar check in his hand. Bruce openly laughed at that.

"I'm sure, you may believe rich people in this city are selfish, and you are most of the time right, but I'm not, think of it as another form of thanks for helping me and accepting to work for me."

Peter did not know what to say, he had never been offered so much by one man.

"All I can say is thanks, thank you for giving me a place, in all definition of the word." Peter said seriously. He hated having to lie almost constantly, but saying the truth really removed a weight.

"I am glad to hear that, I do not require your services until tomorrow, so feel free to do what you wish until then, remember: the manor is also your home."

After the deposit and a last goodbye, Peter started "shopping" for his arachnid alter-ego that needed some materials and a sewing machine.

 **A few hours later…**

Peter was just taking a last stroll around the street before changing to go to the clock tower when his Spider-sense kicked in. _Damn_. He quickly jumped in an alley to change and a few seconds later Spider-man was on the roof of an apartment. He listened closely to the seemingly angry conversation that was taking place, he could make out two voices. Luckily for him they were on the last floor with an open window, listening while on the roof was easy.

"The commissioner is her father, there is no way he say no to us if we get her now."

"Maybe, but you are forgetting Batman, he's always around the police, your plan is stupid, like the rest of them."

"I know where she is now, we can get her before dawn, before Batman comes out."

"Allright, but I warn you, we get caught, I will not rest until you are dead."

 _Geez those guys are really crazy, discussing a kidnapping while threatening each other, seriously?_

He stayed hidden and when he saw the two men leave the apartment he followed silently, wanting to know more about this plan if possible. After several minutes they stopped in front of the GCPD and made a sign to each other. It started raining, hard.

 _And those are the moments when wearing a skin-tight suit is NOT practical._ Peter thought as he frowned behind his mask. He saw the GCPD and noticed and big spotlight with a bat on it on a tower overlooking the police department. He took note of that.

"There she is…" One of the men said. Spidey turned to see and what he saw almost made his mind go blank.

 _This is the commissioner's daughter? Why is there no bodyguards or policemen with her?_

His train of thoughts was interrupted when one of the men ran up to her, making noise. She turned back then started to run, but she strangely did not seem terrorized like Spider-man would have thought, she seemed stressed but not in complete panic. He followed them and she suddenly turned in an alley, making both the men turn and forcing Spider-man to side-step, the rain was obscuring his vision and he was almost entirely relying on his Spider-sense for orientation.

She ran quickly for a young girl, unfortunately she ran in a dead end and turned back to see the two men. Unaware to all of them, Spider-man was seeing everything, he was about to jump when he suddenly saw six men entering the alley. _Where did those come from?_ He looked at the girl, now vastly outnumbered and decided it was time to act.

"You're coming with us honey, no need to tell you what happens if you don't. Commissioner Gordon would not like to hear his dear Barbara was…let's say "hurt" while he was away don't you think?"

 _Time to make them afraid_. The sun was almost gone and he felt like making them scared, he did not know why, but seeing them threaten this young girl did something. He did not know what.

"She won't be the one to be hurt if you don't leave." Peter said in a more grave voice than usual.

"It's the Bat! I told you he would be there you moron!" The men started to run but there was no way out, both way out of the alley were completely blocked by thick webbing, obstructing the sun even more for them.

"It's not Batman you should be concerned about right now."

"Where are you coward!? Show yoursAH!" He yelled before being suddenly pulled in the sky.

"I am Spider-man, Batman would not waste his time on pathetic hoodlums like you." He landed in front of the rest of them and threw the man on them. "But I think that someone needs to tell the criminals that the streets are not safer during the day." With these words he jumped in the fray.

Barbara did not believe it, she was starting to think Spider-man just waited for occasions to save her.

 _I still can't believe Bruce was right, he told me that Spider-man was a special individual, but I did not think he was that special._ She thought as she once again saw the ease Spider-man demonstrated while fighting, no one even getting close to touching him.

"It's funny how the criminals of this city are worthless! I mean there is eight of you and you can't touch me. Pretty sure she could kick your asses without my help." He mocked while fighting.

When he was done he webbed them together before walking to the girl who was still standing with her back to the wall, she had the most beautiful red hair he ever saw and seemed to be collected and strong, not afraid. He extended a hand to her. The rain slowly stopped.

 _Did this rain have a timer on it?_ He thought for a second.

"If you want to get out of this trap before the web dissolves in one hour, grab on, the police will take care of them." He said in a soft tone. She held on to him and she felt the rush of air when he jumped over the building onto the roof, as he was about to jump down to the street with her she spoke.

"How did you know they were after me?" He looked at her and slightly tilted his head.

"I overheard a conversation concerning the daughter of the commissioner, so I decided to follow and try to learn more, their boss is going to be real disappointed."

"Thank you Spider-man."

"No problem, always there to help. Did we meet before? Your voice sounds familiar…"

"I think I would remember if I met someone like you." She said almost in panic.

"Right, want a lift back to the GCPD? You can tell your dad all about it."

"I am pretty sure the cops are already on their way here."

She held him again and he lowered both of them to the ground, at the instant they touched the ground he heard sirens. He let go of her.

"Thank you again."

"My pleasure." He answered, then started to swing away as the police cars arrived, leaving Barbara behind.

"Time for some research, those guys meant business, there must be a clue somewhere."

Spider-man went back to the apartment he heard the men talk, luckily for him the pursuit was fairly linear and his Spider-sense helped for spotting some landmarks.

When he finally arrived he got in by the window and started to search the drawers and under the bed first. He found a pistol but he guessed that like in New York most people had one somewhere. When he found nothing useful he looked in less obvious hiding places. After a while he was desperately searching in the clothes in the closet when something fell from one pocket: It was a playing card, a joker. He kept the card then continued to look for a while. Noticing the time he left and swung his way to the biggest clock tower in Gotham.

 _Well this was a rather pleasant day, now for the infamous test of Batman._

 **Later…on the top of the clock tower**

 _I think I was early…_ Spider-man thought as he waited for Batman to show up, he had been counting stars for the last fifteen minutes. He looked at the giant clock and realized he's been there for thirty minutes and no sign of Batman. Suddenly he had an idea: What if this was the test?

 _He said to meet him at the clock tower…I thought he would mean Gotham's biggest clock tower…I'm so stupid! This is the test, he wants to know if I can find him. He's about to be surprised…_

He started to swing from building to building fast.

 _Where do bats like to hang out? Dark and old places where no one goes. The old clock tower…It's as good as any guess._

He swung there and just as he landed on it he heard a small sound and looked behind him to see Batman.

"How did you figure it out?" Batman asked.

"I asked to myself what kind of location are host to bats, the answer: old and dark place where they can sleep in peace. It made sense that you would go here, there's no one to disturb us since it's abandoned."

 _He's good, it was not that easy, it's not the fastest record, but it shows good deducing skills._ Batman thought as he took note of his progress.

"Good, tell me, what happened since our last meeting?" Spidey started to count raising his fingers

"Mmmm….I saved an entire block from being blown to bits close to Wayne manor, I visited the city a bit… Oh and I saved the daughter of the commissioner a few hours ago.

That last event made Batman stop his train of thoughts.

"You saved Barbara Gordon?"

"Yeah, she was about to get kidnapped by a bunch of hoodlums, I overheard them speaking so I followed in the hope to find a potential crime boss until they lead me to her. I am considering to maybe make her and Bruce Wayne a priority protection target since someone seems to want their head for some reason, my guess is that they want something from the commissioner since they mentioned him during their conversation. Although I think that it's all linked based on some small homework I did while patrolling.

 _My test of today was to test his awareness and his deducing skill, well he already did it. It raises questions about the last few days._

"And what did you deduce from your "homework"?" Batman said with an irritated yet curious tone.

"I went close to the GCPD today and I saw the big bat-spotlight. You're obviously working in pair with someone there, commissioner Gordon is a good guess since he's almost the only one to take your defense in the papers and they said you were always close to the police. Barbara Gordon is his daughter, when they talked they mentioned the fact he could not say no to anything they would ask if they had her. Maybe they would have tried either to force Gordon to do something or even get to you somehow. As for Wayne he's the missing piece in my homework, he's out of place. I mean yeah kidnapping someone close to him for a ransom seems logic for criminals, but I don't know any links between Wayne and them, apart from taking advantage of Wayne's good nature, there's nothing I really know, and criminals don't have this kind of reasoning, not these idiots at least."

"That's all? No other clues from those kidnappers?"

"In a way, after I made sure Barbara was safe I came back to the house the men were talking and I searched around, I only found this." He showed the playing card to Batman and the latter suddenly became angry and frowned deeply, it was not that easy to make out emotions when you only saw half his face.

"An acquaintance of yours I presume?"

"This is the calling card of my worst enemy, the Joker."

"Just by the name I can tell he's no joking matter." Spider-man laughed internally at his horrible pun until he saw Batman's death stare.

"Indeed he is not, he is a monster, cruel and cunning. He is crazy but he may be the most dangerous criminal I've faced. He has an obsession with me, he is always trying to make me kill him, knowing I won't despite his actions."

"Yeah I know one like that. Does he know your identity?"

"If he does, I am not aware of it. We can't be sure until we find him." He declared, then started to walk away.

"What about the test?" Spider-man asked in curiosity.

"You passed it when you told me about your homework, today's test was to see your deducing skills and your awareness of details. Now come with me to the cave, we have things to do, get in the car."

"Car? I don't see any…" He was interrupted by what look like a black tank parking close to them with blinding speed.

"How awesome is that!? You sure got all the toys, I call shotgun."

"No" Batman simply answered and opened a compartment in the back of the Batmobile.

"Come on, seriously? You're putting me in the back of the car?"

"Yes, climb on."

After a sigh Peter got on a seat and the Batmobile closed itself back, blocking his view of the outside while keeping him seated.

 _At least I'm not tied up, but this is still unhealthy._ He grumbled under his mask.

 **In the Batcave…**

"I swear to god next time you hit a speed bump at like four thousand miles per hour I'm breaking out of my seat and just sticking to the hood." The web-slinger complained.

Alfred was still there, which bothered Peter to no end since it made a theory he could not share with Batman without compromising his mission.

"Batman I am a little worried, my new assistant has not returned for the night and his watch is not responding." Alfred finally said, which made Spider-man flinch a little.

Batman turned a little and saw the reaction of Spider-man. That was the proof he wanted, now he could be more at ease around him. He still had some questions before their alliance could be complete.

"While the computer is searching for every known Joker hideout, maybe you could tell me something personal."

"Uh…"

"What do you think of Batgirl? I see you acted strange last time you were here with her, you seemed to have blanks from time to time."

Both the butler and the hero jumped at this sudden question.

"Be honest, I will know if you lie." Batman warned.

Spider-man hung his head low for a second then raised it.

"I honestly don't know, all I know is that I feel weird when she's there, I can't explain. The same thing happened with Barbara Gor…" He stopped for a second, realising the similarities, the complete lack of fear when confronted with the criminals, the same red hairs…The same build…The same eyes…The same voice…

"No, it can't be…" He said, astonished he did not see it sooner.

Batman suddenly turned toward him and, totally disregarding the computer, spoke. He knew the questions would have to wait.

"No need to hide it anymore, you proved your loyalty and your worth already and it is time for us to be frank." Batman said gravely. "Your story intrigues me, my guess is that you told the truth for the most part, but there isn't many young men that have such a colorful history without any record to show for it. Nor heroes that magically appear at the same time. I admit I studied you with my tests and my questions, but I had to know if I could trust you. Your reactions, your humor, the same maturity and responsibility in both. The mask may hide your voice and the costume may conceal your body, but your mind and personality betrays you, Peter Parker." Batman said as he saw the slightest of tension in Spider-man's body and Alfred's stupefied expression. "It took me a while to figure it out because it did not make sense at first that someone like Peter Parker, a frail nineteen year-old, could be a superhero, but your actions and your words spoke for themselves." He concluded as he knew that Spider-man was unmasked. But suddenly the latter raised his head and crossed his arms.

"It took all of that to find out? I had a theory the second I saw Alfred. It was indeed quite the conundrum, but your money, your good nature, your unusual build and Alfred spoke for themselves, Bruce Wayne." He smiled as he saw Batman almost cringe at the riposte. "I guess that we were not honest to each other huh? Now can we be? Let's work together, I honestly don't really care who you are, all it does is explaining some stuff, I don't see you differently than before, in fact it just makes me admire you more since you find ways to help even while having two different lives. The only difference now is that we can speak freely, and I get to have gadgets." He said in a happy tone.

 _At least there's one worry out the window._

Bruce was extremely impressed, it took mere days for Peter to find out what his enemies still don't know after years of fighting and sometime compromising actions. He was Batman, and Peter was Spider-man, that's all. He will still have to work on his maturity and some training though.

"Alfred, show Spider-man around the cave while I work on the case, come back when you're done."

Spider-man jumped while lowly yelling "yes", action which made Batman roll his eyes.

As the web-slinger left with Alfred, asking the latter millions of questions, Bruce looked at the card and then at the computer.

"You won't get away, wherever you're hiding, I'll always be there to stop you.

* * *

There's the sixth chapter. Hope you enjoyed!


	7. Popularity and danger

Anything in _Italic_ means the character is thinking.

 **Popularity and the Danger**

After several minutes of searching through possible hideouts that Joker could use, Batman was starting to wonder where Peter and Alfred were, it did not take so much time to show someone around the cave. He decided to wait a bit more time, the sensors on the computer would have warned him if someone left the cave. After all, Peter's love for his gadgets was probably the reason for his lateness.

 _I just hope he's not doing anything dangerous, on second thought I'll go get him._ Batman decided when he realized the young hero could be playing with dangerous artifacts.

"Mr. Parker, I am not certain you should be making modifications on your gear without Master Bruce's approval, it is his material after all, even if you are now on our side. I still have trouble believing you are the young man who was flabbergasted by his new room." Alfred declared as a mask-less Peter was examining his web-shooter.

"Yeah I thought that I was going to be able to keep the secret longer, no wonder he's called the world greatest detective, no one was able to figure me out so quickly. I myself was surprised when I figured out that the happy playboy billionaire was in fact a rather dark hero with a tragic past as well." Peter answered.

"Tell me, who told the truth, Spider-man or Peter?"

"Both stories had some truth in it, how I got my powers, my uncle and my biological parent's story and my resolve were true."

"Then what did you hide about the full extent of your powers?" a gruff voice said in the darkness.

"Let's just say I was not ready to scare all of you into thinking I was a menace just yet Batman, does it bother you that I made some upgrades to my web-shooters?"

Batman raised a brow, surprised that he actually managed to make an upgrade. _He must be quite gifted in science and technology._

"I would rather you don't touch something without me knowing, somethings here are dangerous items that could kill you."

"I guessed that, but I'm just looking to make a few upgrades to my suit, I'm having a bit of trouble making real progress since I never saw some of those toys."

"Yet you seem to be making something." Batman said as he saw the web-shooter plan on a table behind Peter, surprisingly, he did not recognize the formula for the actual webs. When Peter saw his look, he decided to speak up.

"I can't really explain, I think the spider that bit me somehow transmitted some instinctive knowledge of what enzymes and materials I needed to make the webs. Speaking of which I'm starting to be low on web-fluid so could I borrow the lab?"

"You may, but know that I will watch you, just in case your curiosity could put us in danger. Be cautious."

"Thanks, now I can AOH!" Peter lightly cursed as he cut himself while tinkering with web-shooter. "Those things really need some maintenance, it's been a while."

"Alfred bring him to the…"

"No biggie, I heal quicker than normal human, which will make it gone in a few moments, it's just a small cut."

"You have a healing factor?"

"It's limited, I can't heal from a damaged bone or serious injury in moments, but I still can in hours or sometimes a day or two while normal humans would take weeks or months. Don't expect me to be a bullet sponge." He said while smiling and then, remembering the location of the lab since the first test, went on his way.

Batman saw a drop of blood on the table and decided to take a sample for examination. _He said he was bitten by a radioactive spider, I must be sure his blood is not dangerous as much as actual radiation exposure._

He went to the Bat-computer and put the sample for an examination, the lab was not required for a simple analysis, but it would take more time.

 **In the lab…**

After a bit of tinkering, a few minutes (and some help from Alfred who stopped him from touching certain materials) Peter finally managed to make a substantial reserve of web-fluid, he felt lucky Batman had so much technology. He did not feel too good for some reason, every time he thought about the Green Goblin or the thugs that attacked Barbara or the Penguin who attacked Batgirl he felt some sort of tingling. It was not his spider-sense, it was some sort of tension.

 _Probably just some tension, can't let this get in the way of my objective, I must find this new threat, all I know is that it will come from this world. Madam Web would have told me if the threat came from another world like me, at least I think so. So far so good, made some new friends, met a girl, got some money and even managed to make both Spider-man and Peter Parker be liked by some people._ Peter thought as he recovered from his dizziness.

 **Back with Batman…**

When the analysis was finished, it revealed that his blood could indeed be dangerous if it was ingested or transfused because of the radiation and the DNA difference, but was not harmful if not assimilated somehow. Although the analysis also revealed traces of what seemed to be some sort of black particles in his blood cells, the computer was not powerful enough to really give some answers for this, he would need the lab scanner for this.

 _Either he hid some things from us, or he himself as no idea of these strange particles. I guess time will tell us, I won't bother him now about that, it may just be some part of his mutation. But I will make sure later._

He then saw Peter coming back while looking a little off-balance.

"Are you all right Peter?"

"Yeah yeah, just some sort of tension. Tell me, do you have some sort of color-changing material?" Batman raised a brow at this.

"I have a prototype of personal cloaking device and some adaptive armor, but I don't know how it would be useful with your speed. I actually advise we make you a new suit altogether, this one is not really discreet during the night." Peter looked at himself, looking a little offended.

"Maybe, but I'm not changing during the day, this is what Spider-man looks like in public. I'm not looking to make everyone afraid. I'd rather people love Spider-man than fear him."

Batman frowned a little, but conceded him the point, maybe people needed some positive image during the day, image that would still protect them. He himself did not really care, but Spider-man seemed to have some experience, he would let him have his chance.

"Fine. Alfred, get his measurements and send them to Lucius, stay discreet about details though, I have things to do." He then went to the lab himself to complete the analysis. Leaving his two friends behind.

"At least he did not object about me keeping my red and blue suit."

"He seems troubled by something…Ah I think someone is surprised." Said Alfred while looking at something behind Peter.

He turned back to see Batgirl looking at his face, looking very surprised.

"Yeah some stuff happened in little time Barbara." Peter said while smiling. "Don't be angry, he did not tell me, I figured out myself." He assured. Alfred left the two alone and went to the lab.

"How on earth did you manage to become part of our family so fast?"

"Well first my name is Peter Parker. And this is what happened…"

 **Later…**

"So you figured Batman's and my identity in a few days. Even if he would never admit it out loud, he must be pretty impressed." She said with a small smile. "I for one is relieved that he will stop being cautious about you like before."

"Yep, glad too. Speaking of relieved, how did your father react when he heard about…"

"Actually I was here to tell that to Bruce, but since you're here…My father would like to see Spider-man, I don't know why, but you seemed to have made an impression."

"My guess: I saved his daughter from a gang of criminals." He half-laughed, half-said.

Peter heard a sound from the computer and when he saw the screen he saw that the giant computer had completed the search Batman started.

 _12 hideouts to check? It could be long if we don't split up, this Joker guy could move while were searching…I have an idea_.

He looked at the time and he saw that it was almost morning, Peter Parker had a job, and then it will be Spidey's turn.

 **At the lab…**

Batman had trouble believing this: He had seen strange things, invincible kryptonians, gods, extradimensional beings, immortals. But he rarely saw a life form inside a life form. If the computer was to be believed, the black particles seemed to actually be microscopic alien particles that were attached to Peter's blood cells. He would need to make further tests to see if these…creatures were dangerous to Peter.

 _I don't think Peter knows of these, he would have told us before, he would be anxious at least. In my experience, parasites that are burrowed like this reacts mainly to trauma, stress or sudden change in the host. I'll keep an eye on him until the tests are done, just to be sure_. With this last thought he went back to the others, noticing the time.

 **A few minutes later…In the manor**

"I still have trouble believing you managed to hide a giant cave under the biggest manor in town…" Peter said after leaving the cave and seeing the manor with everyone, now normally dressed.

"Since we now know your occupation, I think that your job changed. You will no longer clean the manor, you will clean Gotham when needed, Peter Parker is free, as the rest of us during the day. I will surely receive your new suit before tonight, you will be surprised to know that Barbara sent some ideas to Lucius for your suit." Bruce said, adjusting his tux.

"Don't tell me, I wanna keep the surprise. But I think Peter will stay in the manor. Spider-man will go search for your guy."

"No." Was the simple reply of Bruce. Peter raised his brows. "We do this together, no arguments."

"All right chief, well I gotta go see the commissioner anyway, he wants to see Spider-man. See you soon!" And with these words Peter left the manor to go to the closest changing spot he could find.

"You seem in thoughts Master Bruce, what did you see from the lab results?"

"Nothing alarming yet, don't worry. If there is a reason to worry I'll handle it."

"I'm going to see my father." Barbara said. "I want to see this." And she also left.

"Well sir it seems you still must prepare for the convention, after all the recent events I am sure you forgot about it, and you still have to go shopping." Alfred said, silently laughing as he saw Bruce's expression almost turn to horror.

"It's a shame that almost everyone in this convention will only be there for the sake of being here, not for any real discussion."

"They don't have your reasonability when it comes to actually make something with their money." Alfred said smiling.

Bruce put on a nice suit and started to mentally prepare himself for the night…and the day for once.

 **At the GCPD…**

Spider-man was hanging upside-down in front of the main entrance. He knocked, waiting for an answer. After a while a police officer opened the door and jumped when he saw the hero.

"Hi, I'm here to see Commissioner Gordon, can you please sir inform him of my presence?" Spidey said in his most exaggerated official voice.

The cop recovered from the scare and closed the door. Peter waited a few moments, after a while the door opened again and Gordon appeared. A severe expression on his face for some reason. He looked at Spider-man, who got down from his web to stand in front of him, showing once again that he was a few centimeters shorter than him. The commissioner then smiled a little.

"Spider-man, it is rare to see you on command, usually we have to be in danger. It is nice for once to be able to meet under good circumstances."

"Tell me about it, I heard that you wanted to see me, so I thought that I would rather meet you while we were safe than when an entire block was about to be blown to bits."

"The reason I asked for you is that I wanted to thank you for saving my daughter, I don't know what I would've done if she had been taken by those men."

"No reason to thank me, if I did not help, I would not be able to live with it either."

The commissioner waited for a second then spoke again.

"Follow me Spider-man." He opened the door again and Peter followed him while being a bit uncomfortable with all the cops and secretaries staring at him, stopping what they were doing.

"Why is everyone staring? Is there something on my mask?" he asked while rubbing his mask a little. The bad joke had the wanted effect and tension was relieved as most of them chuckled a little and resumed their work. Eventually Gordon guided him in a stairwell. When they reached the top, Peter saw the Bat signal…and Barbara waiting for them. He blanked a little but regained his composure quickly.

"My daughter is safe thanks to you, it is the first time I express gratitude towards someone else than Batman for saving someone, for a good reason."

"Which is?"

"Because nobody cares about helping others besides the Bat family and you, I don't know who you are nor what is your motive, but I honestly don't need to know. Take this as thanks." He extended his hand who was containing a very small silver badge. Spider-man examined it for a few moments.

"What is it?"

"A gift from me, basically something to prevent cops from getting the wrong idea, you have enough to worry about without some zealous police officers getting in your way."

"I'm very grateful sir, but I don't do what I do for privileges or rewards…"

"Think of it as personal thanks, you saved what is most precious to me. I am helping you to do your job easier. I must go work, my daughter wants a word with you if you have time." With this he put the badge in Peter's hand and went down the stairs. Nor Peter nor Barbara talked until they heard the door close.

"A word with me?" he said, amused.

"You can say that, I don't know why Batman was so bothered about you, I never met someone so selfless yet so alive." Peter was looking like a burning tomato under his mask.

"What do you mean, alive?"

"Batman is as selfless as you, but he is almost never proud nor happy of his or others accomplishments, he does not take a break, if it was not for Alfred, he would over-exert himself. You manage all that while still having the humor and happiness of someone who never saw Gotham before. I've been asking myself a question, and Bruce asked me to ask: What happened to you when you saw those thugs about to attack me? When I told Bruce the details he was curious that you were suddenly more serious.

"Well…I…uh…I just saw them and I saved you, I could not think about what could happen otherwise." Peter was again feeling weird, almost as if his insides were yearning for something.

'This is pretty deep coming from a superhero, I'm not sure Batman would approve of such passion in saving me of all people." She said with a smile that made him smile under his mask. He then realized it's been a while and his father could start having the wrong idea.

"It's not that I don't enjoy your company, but I gotta go, don't want people to think there is something between Spider-man and the commissioner's daughter, I also have to do some research."

"Maybe you're right, but…be careful."

"I'm Spider-man remember? Don't worry about it." He made a thumbs-up sign then jumped off the roof and swung away. Leaving Barbara to her father.

 **A few minutes later…**

 _Three hideouts down, nine to go, if I see something I'll just call Batman. I'm feeling so weird…_ He thought while landing on the roof of a warehouse marked as a possible hideout for that Joker guy. He silently opened the window and stuck to the ceiling. He saw three men speaking while playing poker. He decided to stick around.

"I heard that this Spider-guy took down an army of Penguin's men by himself, even the Bat could not have defeated the entire warehouse alone." A man said.

"I'm pretty sure he's with the Bat anyway, how many costumed guy do you see around? They were all the Bat's sidekicks." Another answered.

"I don't think so, this guy makes pun, he talks and he's not as brutal as the Bat's small gang. No one got out with a broken arm or leg."

"He seems to be having fun, in a way he's scarier than the Bat because he does not even look like he's really trying. I heard from Penguin that the guy insulted him while being surrounded, the guy is not afraid."

"Well that's today's objective mate: see his behavior in front of fear." A familiar voice said. The Penguin appeared from the opened side-door of the warehouse. Spider-man frowned under his mask and had to restrain himself from jumping down. He pressed the small radio on the side off his mask he installed while in the cave so everything he hears will be transmitted to everyone on any Bat-radio. Hoping someone was hearing this.

"Our big guy is already on his way to the target, the clown dismisses this new guy as an amateur that will be gone soon enough. I'm not taking any chances. This new hero may be good at fighting, but I'm told that he saved the commissioner's daughter. Chances are, the commissioner and this new guy are on good terms now. So let's try his patience, he can't find us and he is in no position to stop the operation now. When he shows up, it'll probably be too late already and he'll have their death on his conscience. We don't want our men starting to give up because there is a new guy that patrols during the day. We have to break this guy before he believes he can make a difference." Penguin said with his usually gruff voice.

"You will do nothing…" Peter whispered to himself as he felt the burn again.

"So gentlemen, I would be pleased if you would inform the clown of our little operation. He might admit he's wrong for once. Soon the Spider will be gone and the day will become ours again."

"Not if I have anything to say about it." Peter said while falling on one of the three men.

"The Spider! How!?" The Penguin yelled.

Without saying a word Spider-man threw two webs at the remaining men and smashed them together, knocking them out instantly. He then stood up in front of Penguin and walked towards him, making him back up in fear.

"I thought I was a puny amateur? What makes you so scared?" Spider-man asked while tilting his head.

Penguin's back hit the wall and he looked back at Spider-man's mask with wide eyes.

"You're not scary." He stood up. "The Bat is worse than yAH!" He yelled as Peter grabbed him by the collar and jumped to a high beam, dangling him over the ground. For some reason Peter was feeling the strange burn diminishing.

"You can't do it, you're a good guy…" Penguin said as he tried to pry Spider-man's hand from his collar, to no avail.

"Did you know that normally some birds eat bats? I suppose not, but know this: while vampire bats merely bite their prey for some blood then leave, spiders suffocate their prey to death in their trap, sometimes not even eating them. Don't push me and tell me what are you planning exactly, or I might think about dropping you and ask someone else, your men are surely even weaker than you. So?" Peter said seriously. He was exaggerating of course, he would never kill him, but he still found his face funny.

"Allright allright don't drop me! I sent some men and a titan infused soldier in a truck as fake shipment so they will drop in the GCPD by surprise, the plan is to make as much damage as possible before either you or the Bat came to make you give up on fighting." Penguin said really fast while sweating.

 _I can't believe he actually bought my threat…_

"You really are stupid you know?"

"What?"

"You're so stupid that you don't even know the definition of hero: I wouldn't kill you. I may hit you once so you stop talking, but what would killing you do? I don't take lives." He then threw a web at the Penguin's foot and dropped him, sticking the other end to the beam, sticking him upside-down.

"I gotta go fast!"

Peter launched himself through the window and started to swing as fast as he could to the GCPD, hoping he would be there on time.

 _Hang on, please be alive when I arrive…_


	8. The Fight and a clue

Every time something is in _Italic_ it means the character is thinking.

 **The Fight and a clue**

Bruce had finally lived through the convention, even if his colleagues were glad to be there, his thoughts were far away. He received the call from Lucius for the suit and now waited for Peter to manifest himself so he could get it. The suit was stored safely in the Batmobile for now.

 _I am worried about all this, normally Joker is not that discreet, and he wants me to know it's him._

He went to the cave and saw the computer had recorded a message from Spider-man's radio. He started to listen and the second he heard Penguin's voice he went to his Batsuit, when he heard Penguin mentioning Barbara he stopped and then continued faster, the sun was slowly setting and Batman would be on cue. He knew that Spider-man would be rushing to the GCPD like a madman. He was worried that there was still some titan serum leftovers. He would have to take care of these later.

 **With Spider-man…**

Peter was swinging as fast as he could, he had to get to the GCPD before Penguin's henchmen did. Without her suit Barbara could not fight and the cops won't be enough. He did not know what "Titan" was, but he was sure it was nothing good. Every second that passed, Peter imagined the possible results if he was too late, making him even more focused and tense, his blood burning in his veins.

 _What's happening to me? My body is in pain…I'll check that with Batman later._ He thought a little worried about the feeling.

Darkness was covering the city as the sun was leaving and he hoped it would work in his advantage. He also hoped for some backup from Batman if need be, after all, night was his time.

After several painful minutes, Spider-man heard a scream that froze his blood, he looked and saw a giant man trying to rip the GCPD gate from its hinges, pedestrians watching in horror. He launched himself behind what seemed to be a gigantic mass of muscle that could probably go in a fist fight against Thor.

"Hey big guy!"

The titan turned back and Spider-man slowly went in a crouching position, one hand on the ground, the other on his side, ready to shoot some webs.

 _I don't know what this guy took, but this sure beats working out in a gym. It does not even look like actual muscles anymore…_

"On behalf of the people of Gotham and everyone inside the GCPD I tell you that you have the right to remain si…" He did not have time to finish his joke as the titan charged at him.

 _He's slow and does not know how to fight, but I would rather not find out how strong he is…_

Spider-man dodged his blows, sometime hitting him during a jump, punches which seemed to do very little in the way of knocking him out. People were still watching in awe as the new hero in town was fighting a giant for them. He suddenly jumped over him then threw two web on his face and tried to blind him. He threw all the web he could and soon the giant was covered head to toe. He thought he won, before the titan broke free and suddenly backed up and charged at him again.

He jumped again to dodge but saw what the titan hit: a power generator on the GCPD wall.

 _No!_

An explosion was felt as the titan and Spider-man were thrown back and sent to the ground. The stress brought Peter on his feet in seconds and he looked at the blown wall of the GCPD and ran in to see the state of everyone inside, not caring about the knocked down titan. What he saw paralyzed him: the explosion blasted the wall and sent debris all over the place, setting some place on fire. He jumped and started to shoot webs to put the fire out and help the remaining police force that was trying to get people from under some debris.

After several minutes of Spidey helping everyone he was still searching for Gordon and his daughter. He ran to a cop.

"Where are the commissioner and his daughter?"

"They were leaving when the wall exploded, thanks for the help Spider-man."

"Don't mention it." He answered as he jumped out to look for them. After a while his search was interrupted by his Spider-sense. He jumped away to see the titan dashing past him and running into another wall, not fast enough to shatter it though. As the titan turned, a police car suddenly smashed him and sent him sailing, Peter looked and saw the commissioner and his daughter in the car, Gordon on the wheel, as he made a small nod to Peter.

Peter returned the nod and then heard a heavy motor sound. Just before the Batmobile went past him.

 _Peter handled the situation well for his lack of experience with those, he again made the right choice. But now it's my turn._

Spider-man got the hint and returned to the GCPD to help the evacuation and getting debris out of the way.

 **With Batman…**

Bruce got out of the car and ran to the recovering titan.

 _This one is tougher than the others I fought in the past, that would explain why he is even stupider than the others, he must be pumped full of titan serum._ Batman thought as he touched a button and his gloves started to glow and slightly vibrate with electricity.

The fight was unfair but Batman held up, every punch seemed to weaken the titan but he seemed to recover almost as quickly, he suspected there was more than just titan formula in this guy.

The titan received a knee strike to the face before he countered him with a surprisingly fast back-hand. Batman rolled away, a little dazed despite his armor taking most of the blow. Suddenly he saw the titan lifting the batmobile despite the shocks he was receiving from the car's integrated circuits and threw it toward the GCPD before falling to his knees in exhaustion. He was about to finish him when he heard a crash and a yell in a distance.

 _Oh no…_

 **With Spider-man at the GCPD…**

He saw the Batmobile smash into the commissioner's car before he could react and he just yelled while jumping toward the now wrecked car. He threw webs and pulled the car from under the Batmobile. When he saw the commissioner crawl out of his car, alone, his blood froze.

 _No…_

Peter dashed to the side of the commissioner and pulled Barbara from the remains of the car, she was in one piece but she was not responding. Her father tried to wake her up and Peter fell on his hands and knees. They heard a roar coming from the titan two streets away, still fighting with Batman.

Peter was exploding inside, everything was screaming, every inch of his blood was boiling, He looked at Barbara's unconscious body then slowly turned to face the titan and stood up. He vaguely heard Gordon saying she was allright under the black veil of his anger. All he saw was the titan that hurt her and almost killed dozens of people. Without a word he shot two web line on parallel buildings and, aiming himself at the titan, started to take steps back while holding the webs like a human slingshot.

Meanwhile Batman was still busy with the titan but the latter seemed like he was weakening from all the explosives and shocks he took. As he was about to roll away from another charge, he heard a cracking sound and the titan was suddenly thrown over him and Bruce saw Spider-man, having smashed the titan with both his feet in the back.

The titan seemed to have been actually wounded by the powerful attack as he had trouble standing up again and was slightly bent over.

 _That attack must have shattered a bone in his back, not even titans attacking each other caused so much damage. I don't know what did this to Spider-man, but I think he has the situation in…what?_ Batman thought as he saw Peter walking silently towards the kneeling titan and then jumping to strike him in the jaw, drawing greenish blood from his mouth.

Batman suddenly did not recognize Peter anymore, this was not the cheerful teenager anymore, he had someone else in front of him. Even with the mask, he could tell that he was extremely angry, as he was completely silent, not making any jokes or even showing signs of caution. Batman would be more impressed if he was not worrying about the titan. _What happened to him?_

For Peter, everything was black, every hit he made on the titan made him even more mad than he was, he did not notice the police, having evacuated, showing up and trailing their weapons on the titan, but then hesitating as they saw Spider-man beating the crap out of the titan. But suddenly the titan back-handed Spidey so hard he sent him through a window at the other end of the street.

Batman took the opportunity to remote control the batmobile in front of the window and deploy the new suit in the building Peter was in. He did not know the specifics of the suit, but it was supposed to be an upgrade while staying true to the original concept.

To his horror, the titan seemed to be recovering since Peter stopped pummeling him, even the bullets the police shot at him did not seem to stop his healing.

 _Healing factor? That's new, Titans never required so much punishment before going down. This is definitely a new kind, and conventional weapons are ineffective against this guy…Think Batman think…What could shut him down?_ Suddenly he heard a voice.

"It's not over…"

Batman turned to the window to see Spider-man wearing a black suit with silver web patterns all over it, the spider symbol on the chest was now silver as well. He truly looked fearsome in this suit, particularly with how he was acting right now. Which worried him.

Spider-man charged and on the way jumped and landed knees first into the monster's face, making him fall on the ground. Peter heard a cracking sound during the impact. _You're going to get it._ He then proceeded to repeatedly punch the downed titan so strongly that it left marks on the cement behind his head.

"Spider-man, stop, it's over." Batman half said, half ordered. "Everyone's safe thanks to us."

"Everyone…" He turned to see Barbara looking at him with her father. Slowly the black veil dissipated around Peter's mind and he pushed on his right arm, his suit reverting to red and blue. He stood up over the knocked out titan and slowly started to walk away, when he passed the commissioner and Barbara he whispered.

"Sorry…" He then jumped away and swung over the buildings, out of view.

Gordon and the police approached Batman and some proceeded to get the titan in a truck, later to be a containment chamber.

"Care to tell me what happened?" Gordon asked.

"When he saw the destruction this monster caused, he felt guilty and lost restraint on his powers. We are lucky nobody saw this rage except us, this could have scared the citizens."

"He really cares about this city, he fought an actual monster on his own. But stopped to help the people in the GCPD, disregarding his own safety. He really is a hero. Dad, you always said this city needed more people like Batman, now we have one."

"I will talk to him, maybe understand how he could hurt the titan so badly when the impact from a car did not knock him out. And also why." With these words Batman jumped in the Batmobile and drove away in a gust of wind.

The crowd dispersed, most praising the Spider for his courage. Barbara was staggered by the blows he delivered, she could almost feel the impacts from two streets away. She was not stupid, he did not react like this until he saw her in bad shape. It flattered her yet also frightened her, it could go bad if this happen on someone less resilient.

 **During the night with Peter…**

Peter was on a very high roof, his suit black to blend in the night, he smiled when he remembered that it was probably Barbara who had the idea for the little color change. It brought back bad memories, but it also made him stronger: the suit was made of light but tougher material, a hidden belt was containing dozens of web cartridges. His mask had a micro-radio implanted, and the suit could switch to black just with a push on his right arm.

He also thought about his reaction from earlier: he had to admit it, he had feelings for Batgirl. But he could never act on them, simply because he would have to return home eventually, and he would not want this to interfere with his purpose here.

 _Well at least now I know what is the new threat, this guy was tough, if there was more than one, even I don't know if I could've beat them by myself. I know why Madam Web brought me here: The Bat family could never beat them on their own. My bet on the mastermind is this Joker guy but since it's Penguin who sent him, then he could be a lead, I'll have to speak to Batman and Gordon, if they do want to speak to me…_ Peter thought before he heard a small wind sound behind him.

"If you wanted privacy, I would suggest hiding during the day Spider-man." Batman said to Peter, who had his back turned.

"I'm sorry about…" Peter was about to say but was interrupted.

"No need to apologize for your action, it is not the display of power that worries me. It is your motivation and your state then. I never saw you so cold and quiet, that's my thing. Spider-man was supposed to be a positive image didn't you say?"

"Humph, well I did not really understand myself either. I could not control myself until you said everyone was all right. All I was seeing was darkness and the big guy."

"Peter, I think I know part of the reason, Barbara told me what happened back there, she was hurt by the titan and you fell on your knees before attacking. It does not take my knowledge to deduce that while you were indeed angry because of every potential victims, she was the one who triggered…that."

"Are you going to disapprove us working together?"

"Not yet, because I think this reaction was not normal. I found traces of some strange black particles in your blood cells. Know anything about that?"

Peter's eyes opened wide under his mask and he jumped on his feet, turning to Batman in a split second.

"Were these particles alive?"

"Not really, it seems as if they were leftovers of something, something that was part of you. Were you bonded at some point to a parasite or something else?"

"It was an alien symbiote, it made me stronger physically but changed my behavior, becoming more aggressive and arrogant, I managed to get rid of it with powerful sound waves from a church's bell ringing inches from me, it was years ago though."

"If what you tell me is true, it seems that while you are no longer bonded, this creature left some of its DNA behind. These particles could be reacting to violent emotions or stress, in this case, anger."

"Trust me, this was nothing compared to what I almost did when I was bonded to it. This suit kinda reminds me of it, without side-effects that is."

"If you want to stay with us, you will need to have better control over your emotions, luckily only some policemen, me, Commissioner Gordon and Barbara saw you. Spider-man's image won't be tarnished. Are you certain you can control it in the future?"

Spider-man hesitated for a second then nodded, he needed to have the Bat family with him.

"I can guess that this big dude was new to you right?"

"Indeed, I fought men who were drugged with a formula called "Titan", but they were never this resilient nor that strong. I heard the message from Penguin you transmitted, where is he now?"

"Either in prison or out there because no one found him before the web dissolved."

"I will go to the GCPD and check if Cobblepot is there, you return to the cave and test that suit, Barbara and Alfred are already there."

Peter slightly nodded, a little disappointed that his "shift" was cut short. But leaped away and swung his way to the cave.

 **Later at the GCPD…**

Bruce was examining the cells inside the building, now in the process of re-building the wall. He could not find Penguin in any of them so the little man was surely hiding again. He went to the chief, who tensed when he saw Batman approaching him.

"Do you have any news about the Penguin's whereabouts?"

"It's ironic that you asked that since we actually have something, normally I wouldn't tell but since you're…you. Some of his men were stupid enough to talk about him in their cell, which had microphones in it. He's supposedly about to, and I quote, "releasing havoc on this new guy". Somehow I think he dislikes Spider-man, if he saw him today, pretty sure he would leave him alone though." The chief said while looking at some files.

"Then I have work to do." With these words he left then grappled away, thinking about how much of these monsters Penguin had in his pocket.

After a while he arrived at the warehouse where he tracked Spider-man' message location and started searching. He activated his cowl's detective vision and looked around. He analyzed the small damaged piece of floor where Penguin most likely fell from Peter's web when it dissolved, round marks on the ground attracted his attention.

 _His back or a leg was hurt, he used a stick of some sort, probably a broken table's leg, to help him walk out of this place, if I follow them it will lead me right to him. He's not smart enough to anticipate my arrival, he would be waiting for Spider-man._

He followed the marks while still blending in the shadows, looking out for a possible ambush Penguin would have set up close to his new location. After almost an hour of tracking the traces suddenly stopped, indicating Cobblepot had either recovered from his back pain around here and got rid of his improvised cane or got a lift from someone.

Batman grappled up to a building and was overlooking the terrain when he heard footsteps. He looked down to see two men carrying a big crate, both men carrying rifles on their back.

 _That's no ordinary weaponry for common thugs, chances are they are going back to their boss. Time to follow, I was getting tired of nothingness._

Batman silently followed the men and when he saw the two men were walking toward an old construction site he did not lose time: he jumped at them and with two quick strikes on the leg and chin, knocked both thugs out before either could make a sound. He opened the crate easily and what he saw baffled him. There was five vials of a greenish liquid.

 _Why would they transport it in a crate this size? The vials are small, a simple backpack or even a secure pocket could contain them without drawing attention. I must bring those back to the lab._ Bruce thought as he put the vials in his belt. _The lab computer should be able to tell me what is supposed to be in these._

He grappled up again, leaving the men there, and made his way to the batcave, not risking using the car and making his presence known.

When he arrived he saw Peter doing sit-ups…on the ceiling. While Alfred looked at him with a completely baffled expression.

"Peter, I found something, you might want to come down." As he said that, Spider-man dropped beside him.

"What is it?"

"I followed the trail the Penguin left after your web dissolved and I eventually saw two men going to a construction site, probably their new hideout since two warehouses were attacked and Cobblepot is not stupid enough to keep an exact pattern. A construction site left unattended is a good guess, as it gives cover while making stealth a little more…"

"Left unattended? How can a building in construction be filled with criminals without being noticed?"

"Workers were probably bribed or simply threatened, you will learn quickly that in this city, there is crime everywhere, even the police force is corrupted, for the most part."

"I'm starting to wonder how in the world you three can manage all that…"

"Teamwork and fear, criminals almost only come out during the day anymore because of us, but now we have you for that." Batgirl said while looking at the computer.

"By the way, like the new suit. And I'm there to help anyway I can."

"The men were carrying those in a crate." Batman interrupted while showing them the vials and then walking to the lab, followed shortly by Peter and Batgirl. Alfred stayed behind and made a small sigh as he foresaw the world of trouble.

* * *

So this is the eight chapter everyone, sorry for the long delay, college starts soon and updates will become slightly less frequent. i will NOT stop this story. I will try to make a few chapters before it will become slower. So expect a few updates in the following days. Hope you enjoyed and leave a review it always help!


	9. The new threat and a rumor

Anything in _Italic_ means the character is thinking to themselves.

 **The new threat and a rumor**

During the analysis of the new formula Batman intercepted, Peter was restless. Doing sit-ups on every surface he could stick to. He could not stop thinking about the fact that he was about to fight this new stuff, but was also afraid of what he did because of the symbiote's leftovers, he needed to relax and exercise before he went insane. Barbara was alternating between watching Spider-man working out on the ceiling in his red and blue attire and watching the analysis with Batman.

 _As much as I appreciate the help from Peter, I can't stop but think of the coincidence of his arrival and the appearance of this new formula. Why would someone this strong appear just in time to help? I don't have many theories to work on except if someone sent him. In which case I must find out who._ Bruce thought as he looked at the formula.

Suddenly Peter dropped from the ceiling and looked at the computer, what he saw startled him: some of the components in the serum were part of the Goblin formula, the rest of the core elements were from this "Titan formula" Batman spoke about.

 _It's impossible…how could Norman be here? He's pretty much the only one who knows how to make it, and the guy I fought was far stronger physically than the Goblin, he was fast though, faster than what he looked like anyway. I have some questions. At least I now know how to make that computer work, having a view from up high does help._

"Hey Batman, those titans you fought, were they conscious of their actions whatsoever?"

"Barely, but they were smart enough to do something else than blindly charge like the titan we fought. But they were slightly slower, I never saw a regular titan throw punches with such speed and accuracy. Even the computer doesn't recognize some of the components reactions if mixed."

"And that's bad?" Peter asked.

"Very bad, every formula known to man, this computer can identify. That means this formula is new to this world, I will have to speak to other heroes about this, some of them may have answers." Bruce said while thinking about the League. His chances for information were greater if he had extra-terrestrial beings as informants.

"What about…" Batgirl said before being interrupted.

"You are not coming with me, Spider-man and you can take care of this while I am gone. I won't be gone long, I have faith that you can handle this city for one or two nights. But before that, I have one last test for Peter." Bruce said gravely while pondering the pros and cons of leaving them on their own.

"Didn't I passed those already?"

"Yes, but I have something else in mind. Tell me, I saw you staring at the formula, did you saw it before?" Bruce knew he had him even with the mask on just from the lenses that betrayed his raising eyebrows.

"I have good knowledge in science, I recognized some of the core elements from various serums I saw before, I just did not really figure out how they could do such a thing mixed with another formula I was not familiar with." Spider-man tried to say for his defense, which was not entirely false.

"If you know some of these elements, can you enlighten me?" Bruce already knew Peter had some answers, nobody sounds nervous when saying they are good at something unless this something is bad. And science is not necessarily bad.

 _I have to be honest, the guy probably knows I'm hiding stuff anyway, I don't have to tell him everything…_

"Part of this formula could be used as some sort of performance enhancer" Peter declared under the surprised stare of Barbara and the slight frown of Batman. He then moved to the computer and separated the elements from the Goblin's formula, almost creating a virtual image of the actual thing. "But if I would guess by this particular mix, it is too unstable and could not be used on humans without risks."

 _There, I hope it's enough for him…_

"Interesting, you managed to understand in moments something the computer himself understood in several minutes. The titan formula is similar in the way of the main effects, but early computer simulations indicate the other elements were never researched at Wayne enterprise or in any known location in the world, which means you saw someone injected with it, otherwise you would not know the main effects." Batman almost accused.

 _Damn…_

"Allright, you remember during your first mental test the guy I was fighting?"

"The one on the glider, yes." Batman said as he saw from the corner of his eyes Batgirl's completely lost expression.

"He had an accident, he was a brilliant scientist, head of a great company that sadly worked on a few military projects. He was working on it and it blew up in his face. He indeed got a great physical and mental enhancement, but it drove him insane. He created deadly weapons and became a criminal, and eventually one of my worst enemies, despite his costume, he is a monster. The serum eventually destroyed the man behind the mask and he became obsessed with killing me. He discovered my identity and killed…someone. That serum is extremely dangerous, you don't want someone like the Green Goblin here, there would be nothing you could do against him. The only thing that gave me an edge was his obsession and his rage, which made him careless sometimes."

Batman pondered his words, he was now sure Peter came from very far, since someone like this Goblin character would obviously be known somewhere. He would have to ask other things to the League about this. He could not even imagine what this formula could do to someone like the Joker…

 _I'm still worried he did not do anything to really give himself away, he normally does everything in his power to make sure I know it's him. It's not his style to rely on others like Penguin, he wants to kill me himself, like he wants to. He would never allow someone else to do it._ Batman thought while assimilating Peter's words.

 _Peter's origins can wait for now, I have enough experience to be sure he does not come from anywhere I know. First, the League then the formula_.

"Right, then before I leave, follow me Peter." Batman started walking out of the room and Peter followed after a last look at the formula displayed on the screen, reminding him of his enemy and what he did.

After a while he saw Batman was guiding him outside of the cave, even if the night was almost over.

"Huh Batman? The sun is almost rising, your shift is done, no?"

"Not this time, you have fought dangerous criminals, endured many things. But I think you rarely had to fight someone with actual experience, no?"

"Most of the guys I fought were indeed not the brightest light bubble, but some were geniuses. Well, crazy ones, but still." Peter was starting to wonder where this was going.

"You have experience then, but I still have to make sure you can adapt." He made Peter follow him to a high rooftop and turned to face him.

Peter now realised that Batgirl did not follow, he did not really expect Alfred to climb buildings.

 _I'm not sure why we're here but…Spider-sense!_

Peter quickly ducked and saw some sort of bat-shaped shuriken go over him.

 _He's making me fight him?! Is he crazy?_

Batman did not utter a word and continued throwing batarangs, Spider-man continuously dodging without much effort. Suddenly the batarangs started making small explosions mid-air, forcing Peter to jump higher and sometime using his webs to drag him a little farther. At some point Peter felt the burn again for a second but concentrated on the task at hand.

 _He's good for now, I'm curious to see how much he can take before making mistakes…_ Bruce thought while changing strategy and throwing a bola towards Peter who was caught off-balance and got tangled.

Spider-man was surprised with the toughness of these bolas, Kraven's never resisted for more than a second or two. His thought was interrupted when he received a powerful kick which sent him a few feet back. When he recovered he felt weird again. He broke through the bola and blocked the next punch that came his way. For the next few minutes, Spider-man spent his time dodging and blocking without hitting back.

 _I have to push him, he won't fight back against me if he is not angry, at least that's easy._

"Not fighting back? Well if you don't have the guts to fight me how can you save anyone?" He knew that mentioning that would have some effect, he just didn't know how much.

Spider-man reeled back and threw a punch that sent Bruce several meters back, he got back up and ducked just in time to avoid a web-ball, he did not expect that. He rolled to him and then the fight started being serious, Peter was fighting back a little. Bruce could tell he did not practice any martial art he knew, if any, but that was his advantage since he had trouble predicting Spider-man's attack.

Peter on the other hand was slightly angry that Bruce made this remark but still held back since he suspected it was part of the test. He did not want to hurt Bruce but every fiber of his body was telling him to fight back. After several minutes Batman threw a smoke bomb on the ground.

Bruce sliently jumped out of the smoke cloud and was about to throw an explosive batarang when he heard movement.

"Your smoke can fool my eyes, but not my Spider-sense!" with these word Spider-man jumped out of the cloud and delivered a powerful kick to Batman who was not prepared for that. Kick which almost made him fall of the roof. He recovered and did not see Peter anywhere.

 _Where is he?_

He focused and rolled away from a punch that came from above. He heard his hard breathing and the sound of the wind on his suit. He was lucky he had so much experience and technology, a normal human would not last very long against Spider-man. After a few minutes of close fighting, Bruce backed away and talked.

"Enough, you passed."

Spider-man stopped as he was about to jump and tilted his head a little.

"What was this anyway?"

"I was trying to see if you could fight someone who had years of fighting experience, I was also trying to analyze your fighting style and most importantly your ability to restrain yourself and adapt. Tell me, why did you not make puns during our fight?"

"I talk mostly to make my opponents angry, they make mistakes if they are angry. Very useful against guns. I had no intention to really hurt you, and I knew that making you angry would be too hard and it would jeopardize our partnership anyway."

"If you had to defeat me to save someone, would you do it?"

"If I had no other options I would, but let's just hope it does not come to that, I hate fighting my friends." Batman slightly raised a brow when he said "friend" but he said nothing. Judging it was somewhat appropriate.

"I have to go now, you and Barbara take care of this city while I'm gone, don't act rashly without knowing what you're getting into first."

"Yes sir!" Peter said while putting his hand on his forehead, lightly smiling under his mask at his joke.

 **Later, during the day…**

Barbara was at the GCPD again, she was slightly angry that since the failed kidnapping and the attack, her father insisted on keeping tabs on her from time to time. She was tired and she needed some action, she did not have a solution right now but she almost wished something would happen so Spider-man would show up and she would have an excuse to leave the place and go home until the night.

"Barbara, can you tell me what's up with these rumors?" Her father suddenly asked while looking at some files and holding a phone under his arm.

"What rumors?

"People are saying you and Spider-man…"

"Seriously dad? The guy saved me and I'm grateful but there is nothing between him and me."

"From what I saw during the attack, HE may think otherwise." Gordon declared before everyone heard a knock on the main door.

An officer opened it and it revealed Spider-man, one hand on the doorframe.

"Hey everyone! Is the commissioner here?" Gordon went to him and made a sign to the officer who went back to his work.

"What are you doing here Spider-man? Meet me on the roof." He closed the door, leaving a confused Peter at the door for a few seconds before he went to the roof as well in his own way.

When they were on the roof, Peter noticed the weird way Gordon was looking at him. It was making him uncomfortable. He knew he had to speak first.

"Well thank you for seeing me on such short notice Commissioner, I have…"

"Why did you change the other day?" Gordon asked directly.

 _Of course he would ask me that first…why does life hate me so much?_

"I was angry because this monster almost killed dozens of good people because I was not serious in the first place."

"Don't give me that, your little display was not like anything I ever saw, even Batman does not look so scary when he fights, and now that I think about it, where's your black suit?"

"Oh it can change color at-will, but for the other thing I was just angry, there's nothing really. I have some…"

"Looks like I will have to ask directly: Do you have any interest in my daughter?" Gordon dead-panned. Neither of them aware that Barbara herself was watching them from the stairs, hidden in the shadows.

Peter scratched the back of his head for a second then spoke up.

"I know I can be honest with you, I heard good things about you, you are one of the only good people in this city and I will not lie to you." Barbara held her breath when she heard that. "I do have feelings, but don't worry, I won't…"

"I don't really care, I just wanted to know. I know you are a good guy and you won't do anything to hurt her, if this means she has another protector, then so be it. She is all I have and I can't count how many times me and my family has been threatened because of what I do." Both Peter and Barbara were completely dazed by what he just said. "I must warn you though, and I will only warn you once: you do anything to hurt her and there is nowhere in this city you can hide."

"I would never, what kind of hero would hurt her? Hurt anyone for that matter?" Peter asked rhetorically. The commissioner made a small nod.

"No one will know, don't worry hero. Now what is the reason for your visit in the first place?"

It took a few moments for Peter to assimilate everything then wiped out some sort of small silver spider from his hidden belt.

"This is a small gift for you, should you ever need me, press on the back of the spider and I will know you need me. I made a few spares so I can keep track of a few people, and some to put on antennas, if you press the belly of the spider it opens so you can wear it like a ring."

"Antennas?"

"Yeah, they catch the radio frequencies so I can hear what the police and the emergency broadcast are saying. I just stick them to every big antennas and I get free cable!" Peter laughed at his own joke and Gordon smiled a little.

"Thanks for the gift Spider-man, I still have trouble believing someone your age can be so responsible…"

"With great power comes great responsibility." Peter declared. "That's my life's rule."

Gordon smiled then went down the stairs, closing the doors behind him. Peter was about to jump away when his radio beeped up, he turned it on before swinging away after the next antenna he had to mark.

When Gordon got back to the office floor, everyone was looking at him. He stared back at everyone then spoke.

"People, the rumors are false. Also we have work to do, stop staring at me and resume your work." Everyone got back to their work.

He went to his daughter who was sitting in front of a computer, unaware that she heard the whole thing and was completely baffled. And put the small spider beside her.

"Small gift from him: Push on its back and Spider-man will come, push on its belly and you can wear it like a ring he says." Barbara looked at it then at her father.

"Dad I…"

"No argument, you need it more than I do, I can't always be there, Batman is only there at night and you won't have access to a phone at all time. You are in trouble, you call him." With these words he left and resumed his work, happy that a little stress was finally lifted from his shoulders: he did not have to worry about her being defenseless. He did not like the idea of Spider-man having feelings for her, but if it meant her safety, he could live with it.

 **Elsewhere…**

"So this Spider-man defeated the new titan? I am impressed."

"He humiliated me twice! I will get rid of him!"

"No Cobblepot, I think this new hero needs to be reminded who is who in Gotham. If my informant is to be believed, our new titan is recovering now. Spider-man will fight him again, Batman won't be there to save him this time."

"My men will assist the titan to make sure your experiment does his job. It is you after all that made this new thing that we injected into the titan."

"We will squash this spider, but not without destroying his image and his heart first."

 **Hours later with Peter, during the night…**

 _Finally done with these freaking antennas, never thought there was so much crime in this city, I must've spent more time webbing people up than swinging._ Peter thought, exasperated by the ridiculous amount of thieves and potential killers he captured during one single day.

"I swear I wonder how Batman can live like this, and this conversation with the police commissioner…" He thought while laying down on the high roof of a building overlooking what he think would be the ocean in this world.

"I always wonder why you think out loud…"

Peter turned back to see Batgirl looking at him a few feet away.

"You Bat-people like to sneak up on people like that huh."

"It's our thing. You did incredible work today, the GCPD's cells are almost full. Many lives were saved, again thanks to you." She walked to his side and took in the view.

"Why did you search for me? Not that I don't like the company, but you're the night expert. I'm mostly a day hero."

"You pretty much cleaned the entire city today, can't find a single criminal. How you manage to swing like that all day is beyond me."

"Superhuman durability. Trust me, sometimes I wish I had an excuse for taking a break. This city is completely filled with criminals."

"What did you talk about with Gordon?"

"Oh…uh…I gave him a spider-tracker so he can call me if he needs help and we spoke a little about his daughter." Batgirl faked surprise and looked at him.

"What? What did you say to each other?"

"Uh…He asked me about my reaction during the attack, I reassured him and he seemed content with my answer." Peter half-lied, not really wanting her to know everything, completely oblivious that she already knew.

"You know, there are rumors in the GCPD that Spider-man and Barbara Gordon have a relationship. Dad did not tell you about that?" She was trying to pry the answer from him, but he was resisting so far.

"Yeah I heard, what do you think about them?" He took her by surprise with this question.

"I…I don't think they are true, how could a superhero have feelings for the daughter of a cop anyway?" Peter was smiling a little under his mask, her hesitation betraying her intentions.

 _She's trying to make me spill the beans, two can play at this game...maybe it's time to tell the whole truth…_

"Why would the daughter of the commissioner have feelings for a vigilante?"

Both did not speak for a moment before Peter stood up and turned to look at her.

"What I'm about to tell you will sound very crazy, I come from…" Before he could finish he was interrupted by his radio intercepting a message.

"The titan escaped! We need backup now! He recovered and is currently trying to smash his way out of the asylum!" The broadcast informed. Peter raised a brow at this.

"Asylum? Why would they send this monster to an Asylum?"

"They are supposed to have one of the best security, more like revolving doors from our point of view since every single criminal that ends up there escapes…"

Spider-man was almost thankful that this happened so he could postpone this conversation a little longer.

"Well then, no time to waste Batgirl, to the asylum! Lead the way I have no idea where it is!" He added at the end which made both of them laugh a little before she grappled away and he followed. He had a bad feeling about this fight, but nothing will stop him from saving this world.

* * *

A/N: This is the 9th chapter everyone hope you enjoyed and see you in the next chapter!

To answer a question i was asked by a few: Yes, other member of the DC universe will be mentioned/appear even if Batman and Barbara will remain the priority.

Leave a review it always help and thanks to everyone who followed the story since the beginning, I had no idea my very first fanfic would be a success.


	10. Rematch and the first joke

Anything in _Italic_ means the character is thinking to themselves

 **The rematch and the first joke**

When Batgirl and Spider-man arrived in front of the asylum, after a tediously long road that made Peter wonder why in the world an asylum would be so remote to the rest of the city, they clearly heard the alarms inside.

 _The asylum is so far from Gotham it's almost on a separate island god damnit. How can this city be so corrupted that they basically turn an asylum into a prison that sucks?_ Peter while he mentally sighed.

"So what's the plan Batgirl? You familiar with this place?"

"It's more Batman's specialty, but we can do without him, it's only the one threat opposed to every single criminals escaping."

"How is that even possible?"

"Don't ask. Keep radio contact so we know what's going on at all time." Batgirl said seriously. This was one of the few times Batman was not there and she had no intention of disappointing him this time.

Spider-man nodded then jumped through the front door before Barbara could lead the way. Peter saw a few people in the hall, judging by their uniform they were doctors.

"The cavalry is here people! I would advise to go someplace safe while we take care of the big guy." Every doctor in the room left almost as fast as he came in and he moved forward only to see a few security guards putting stuff in front of a door, distant roars being heard. Batgirl caught up to him and scowled a little at his boldness.

The guards turned around briefly but their panic dissipated as they saw the heroes. One of them approached the two and looked strangely at Spider-man with his colorful costume compared to the bat-themed hero.

"I was expecting Batman to be honest, no offense."

"None taken, what is…" Peter tried to say before Batgirl spoke up.

"Where is the titan?"

"He is trying to get out of the asylum, we managed to contain him in the main elevator room behind this door but he already did major damage to the building and we know we can't do anything against him, we tried everything, we're down to trying to tire him out by blocking the only exit with everything we have but he does not seem to be tired yet…"

"Did some inmates escape?" Batgirl asked with slight anger in her voice.

"Not many, most of them were tossed aside during the titan's rampage when he recovered in his containment chamber. No casualties yet, we evacuated the staff almost instantly after he woke up and most inmates were smart enough to stay out of his way. What do we do?"

"You do nothing for now, stay where you are and try to help the cops when they get here, we're handling him, is there any way behind this door besides the…well… door?" Spider-man asked while slightly tilting his head on the side.

"There is a ventilation shaft on the ceiling, during the last incident here, Batman often used them."

"Wait, what last incident?"

"No time for that, we must stop him before he gets out through the wall or something, thanks for your efforts chief." Batgirl said firmly before grappling to the ventilation shaft, followed shortly by Spider-man.

While they were crawling in the vent, the roars of the monster were becoming clearer by the second. After a few minutes Peter suddenly stopped when he felt a familiar tingle and whispered.

"Batgirl, you may want to stop here, there's danger somewhere…."

Batgirl activated her own detective vision and looked through the ventilation shaft to see the titan starting to make dents in the big metal door the guards had blocked, she guessed they had little time before he went through it. But she did not understand the danger until they heard engine sounds from where they came. In a split second, Batgirl turned to Peter and whispered back.

"I'm going back to check on the guards, this engine was too loud to be a police car and you just detected a danger, you focus on the titan, I will catch up as soon as I can." Without leaving him time to protest, she started to back-track, leaving a worried Spider-man alone.

 _She can handle it, I have a bigger fish to fry._ Peter thought as he continue his progress and eventually broke the vent bars to jump in the elevator room the guards talked about. The room was basically another corridor leading to another metal door, the only difference being that you had to go down an elevator to get to this one. He was looking at the titan's back as he was pounding on the blocked door.

"Hey big guy!"

The titan suddenly turned, and when he saw Spider-man, he roared even louder than before, completely forgetting the door. The hero braced himself and went in a fighting stance.

"Ready for a rematch?"

 **With Batgirl…**

She was right to come back, some of Penguin's henchmen were getting out of a truck in front of the asylum. They would kill the guards if she did not do something.

 _Ten armed men, no real way to hide and no Batman to assist…Those odds will do._

When the guards stopped feeling the titan punching the door they turned back to see Batgirl running toward them.

"Armed men are coming here, hide while I take care of it." She ordered, but to her surprise the guards looked at each other then smiled.

"With all due respect, we are not going anywhere, we will fight. If Spider-man can fight this giant monster, then we can fight these idiots with you. Just give us a signal." With these stunning words the guards separated and hid behind various objects and in the small entrance cabinet. Batgirl grappled up and used her grapple to hang high from the ceiling. She prepared two smoke pellets with one hand while the other held the grapple gun.

"Allright guys you know what to do, we help the experiment escape so he can try again. This time the Bat is not here to help." A bulky man in some sort of dark-green suit of armor said, probably their leader.

When the men advanced, Batgirl threw the smoke pellet and fell down, starting to strike the weapons the men had while they were blinded. When the smoke dissipated, she finally said something.

"Now."

On cue, eight security guards got out of their hiding and joined the brawl. The henchmen were completely dazed by everything and were defeated in a matter of seconds despite the guards not using their firearms. Even the leader was on the ground.

"Thanks for the assist chief, get out of here, Spider-man and I will take care of the rest."

"No problem, everyone already evacuated it was just us that remained anyway. It was good to finally feel useful in this god forsaken place. We will wait in front of the gates for the police to arrive." With these words that surprised Batgirl the guards left and used the truck the goons used to go back to the gate, out of view. She was baffled that not only these men stayed behind to stop this monster, but also that they fought alongside her against criminals. If Batman was here, he would be impressed.

"So finally I can have some fun." A voice said. Batgirl turned to see the green-armored man casually get up from the ground and turning to her. Even if she did not see his real eyes, she knew they were evil.

After the initial surprise that he actually faked to fight her alone, she went in her fighting stance and ran at him. He did not move an inch and she delivered a powerful kick, aiming for the head.

He just lifted his arm and grabbed her leg, squeezing so hard she felt it through the suit. He laughed at her expression and threw her back with his hand. She rolled back and he was still laughing, the Joker and this guy would probably understand each other. Though this guy was superhuman so he was more dangerous directly. She threw a batarang at him and he merely back-handed it away, he laughed again. She ran to him again and used every combat move she knew: Even if a few ones actually hit, he did not seem particularly hurt and his blows were far too powerful for her to block so she dodged everything she could. She was starting to get tired while he did not seem to, she knew that now she needed help.

 _Peter come on, finish this I need help…_

 **With Spider-man and the titan…**

The battle was intense, Peter had to move constantly to avoid the titan that was rushing him down without showing any sign of weakening. Suddenly he heard a laugh behind the door, a laugh that paralyzed him, he could know this laugh anywhere.

 _It's impossible, there is no way he got here! If he's here, I'm going to get rid of him for good! Wait, why am I thinking like that?_ His thought were interrupted by the titan colliding into him, sending him in the already damaged door. He shook his head and jumped just in time to avoid his charge. But this time the door broke from the impact and the titan ran through.

"You are not getting…" Peter did not have time to finish his sentence when he saw the titan smashing into Batgirl and some guy dressed in green he did not clearly see. Both of them were sent outside the asylum. Spider-man dashed to Barbara's side, now just outside the asylum's main door, and checked her. She was dizzy but allright.

 _The other guy took most of the blow I'll check on hi-Spider-sense!_ He grabbed Batgirl and jumped to see some sort of grenade explode where they were a second ago. He landed away and put her down before looking back to see the man.

"So you are Spider-man…I expected something a little more scary than that, even the bat-lady is more scary than y-OOF!" The man did not have enough time to finish as he received a swift punch from Peter that made him stagger a few steps back. 'I stand corrected, you actually pack a punch hahaha!"

Peter saw from the corner of his eyes Batgirl recovering and getting up. The man simply stood there, slightly chuckling from time to time.

Both heroes were about to charge but they heard a roar in the distance, realizing they forgot the titan.

"So heroes, fight me or stop the titan from making a carnage?"

The man laughed as both costumed heroes swung their way towards the city, leaving him alone.

"So easy, I love this stuff!" He then calmly walked away, not aware of the small emitter Batgirl stuck to him during their small fight.

 **With the heroes…**

They eventually caught up with the titan who was for some reason not stopping for killing random people, he was just running non-stop. Peter thought about Barbara and the fact she was in no condition to fight him right now as he was hearing the occasional grunt of pain while going after the monster. He had an idea he knew he was gonna regret.

"Batgirl, go get your dad and the police, I'll take care of him." She looked at him with a stare that would kill him if it could.

"Are you out of your mind?"

"You are in bad shape, you can't fight him after the fight with that other guy. Anyway, Batman would say the same thing." He tried in his most concerned voice.

Barbara thought for a second before nodding angrily and turning sharply without a word. Peter hung his head for a second then swung faster to catch up.

 **With Batman…**

Bruce was angry, Alfred informed him of the recent events at the asylum and he immediately started to search for the titan from the sky. He was not that hard to spot since he was always roaring and was bigger than a car. With the zoom from the Batwing he could see Spider-man swinging after him and catching up. The tracker on Barbara indicated that she changed direction and went to the GCPD.

 _My guess is that Peter told her something, she would not leave a fight on her own accord. I am not sure what he has in mind but I have to help. The night is not over yet and since my trip was shorter than anticipated I will not have missed much. No one will take this city._

 **Back with Spider-man…**

Peter eventually caught up and jumped on his back, throwing two web strands on his head and pulling to make him stop. The titan stopped and Peter barely avoided the titan that tried to grab him. The monster looked even more angry than usual.

 _Even if this is my last battle, this thing won't hurt anyone._

As pedestrians around him were starting to watch and film from afar, Spider-man fought the giant, evading his blows and countering as much as he could since the titan seemed even stronger than before. For each attacks Peter avoided, it seemed like he threw dozens back but to no avail. He jumped on him and threw a continuous stream of webbing while running and crawling all around the giant, slowly trapping him in a giant cocoon. He reeled back and, jumping up, used a web to fall back in the monster's face, feet first.

The wrapped up titan fell down from the blow but broke the web and grabbed Spider-man who did not have time to jump. To his surprise the titan did not try to smash him, he threw him away and continued his charge, it took Peter mere moments before he realised where the titan was heading…Back to where he first stopped him.

Spider-man recovered mid-flight with his webs and dashed after the behemoth, he had to stop him there. And now he had yet another motivation for doing so.

When he arrived at the GCPD, the titan was already there and up to his old trick: ripping the main door off its hinges and making a mess inside.

 _Over my dead body…I think I don't have much of a choice…_

He threw multiple webs on the titan while he had his back turned and jumped backwards, making the monster take a couple steps back and drawing its attention back to him.

The two adversaries stared at each other, unaware of the police officers that were coming out of the building by the same door the monster was trying to remove. The officers clearly recognized Spider-man and his opponent and decided against involving themselves and just silently evacuated as the two started to fight again.

As he fought, Peter started burning inside again, he ignored it for now. At some point he heard a wind-like sound and Batgirl dropped from the sky beside him, shortly followed by Batman.

"Batgirl? I asked you to leave, you're going to get hurt." Peter said a little harshly.

"Well I'm not so get used to it." She replied. Batman was observing Peter's behavior.

Spider-man said nothing as he jumped at the titan, leaving them alone. Batgirl grappled upward while Batman ran and started to fight the titan with Peter. When Barbara got on the adjacent roof she started to throw batarangs at the titan's back to try to weaken him enough for her two allies to finish him. Suddenly he punched the ground with such force it sent the two crime-fighters back a few meters away. The titan saw Batgirl and suddenly made a great leap to get to her. In that split-second of realization, Peter and Batman dashed to the roof, but too late to prevent the titan from grabbing her and starting to crush her in a bear-hug, her tired state preventing her from fighting back. Spidey and Batman hit the giant at the same time, making him drop her on the ground and fall from the impact. Peter caught her before she hit the ground and held her in his arms while looking at her. Batman knew he had to weaken the titan while he was dizzy so he ran at him and continued the fight.

"Are you allright? Please don't…" Peter asked as she did not move but slightly opened her eyes and coughed a little blood.

"Been better, but you must stop him before anyone else is…" She fainted before she finished. It did not take a second before he turned his suit to black and slowly put her down before jumping toward Batman and the titan.

He knew he looked more fearsome with this color scheme and for some reason he liked that. He also felt stronger. He landed on the giant and, to Batman's and the titan's stupor, tackled him to the ground then…lifted him in the air before throwing him off the roof, back in front of the GCPD. Batman saw his suit and this attack and understood. He activated his wrist radio.

"Alfred, send the car to my location, Batgirl is in bad shape."

"Oh my, what happened?"

"She was attacked again by the new titan, she may have internal injury. Spider-man is fighting him right now."

"I hope he does not do anything he might regret sir…The car is on its way now, good luck sir."

 **With Peter, on the street…**

Peter was feeling weird, the burn was everywhere yet he still felt normal, better even. He was enraged but he knew what he was doing. Some policemen remained to restrict the area and watch Spider-man in action, which was starting to worry them, his black suit made him look more like a villain than a hero and the way he talked was not helping.

"So you like to hurt the ones who are weaker than you? Let's see how you handle me!" He said as he took the offensive, he was hitting the titan with all he had, a blurring series of attacks that made horrible sounds each time they hit their target. After a powerful kick that sent the titan on a wall, the latter picked up a car and threw it at Spider-man. Everyone thought it was over, but Spider-man merely caught it mid-air and raised it over his head.

"That's all you got? Well let me return the favor!" He jumped and smashed the car on the titan, putting him on the ground. The titan weakly removed the remains of the car from him before he saw Spider-man, standing over him. For the first time feeling fear as he looked at the black-suited hero. The last thing he saw was Spider-man jumping and using one web to bring himself down, his fist aiming at his face.

When Spider-man stood back up, lightly shaking his fist and pushing on his arm making his suit revert to red and blue. He looked at the officers looking at him and made a "thumbs-up" sign.

"Heroes, two. Giant, zero."

The officers were advancing toward the downed-again monster when Batman landed close to him and, with a small injector he held in his hand, stabbed the titan in the shoulder. Under everyone's eyes, the giant creature reverted to a normal, yet muscular man, still unconscious, covered in bruises and bleeding from his mouth and nose.

"You found a cure?" Peter asked as he watched the officers taking the man away.

"Yes and no, I managed to make a quick serum using the Batwing's equipment, but I will need to go back to the cave to get a complete serum from the lab, this one won't cure him for very long." Batman answered gravely. "And tell me, why do you only use the feature on your suit when you're angry?"

"I guess having a dark appearance and making puns at the same time would break the purpose, no?" Peter answered while smiling a little under his mask. He then remembered Batgirl.

"Where is…"

"She is safe, the car is almost here and we will bring her back to the cave." As he finished his sentence, the Batmobile arrived, making everyone on the scene jump.

"Normally I would advise a hospital, but I guess the identity thing isn't helping." He jumped on the building and almost immediately got back, Batgirl in his arms. Batman opened the "back seat", putting Batgirl in, before climbing in the driver's seat. He gave Spidey a last look and drove away at blinding speed, leaving Peter on the scene, knowing he had to stay there.

A few cars arrived and, to Peter's horror, Gordon got out of one and walked to him.

"Do you know where is my daughter Spider-man? She is not at home." he asked directly.

 _Gotta improvise on this one…_

"She's safe don't worry, she called for me and I got her out of harm's way. By the way, since you gave the spider-tracer to your daughter, would you want another one?" he asked innocently before showing him another one. He reminded himself he would have to make more the next time he went to the cave.

Gordon took it before looking at the damage around him and the officers who were getting back in the GCPD. He smiled a little.

"You sure have your way of fighting, thank you again for helping us."

"If I did not do what I do, dozens of people might have died, although Batman does lend me a hand sometime." He added to keep Bruce's reputation alive.

"Maybe so, but you are still the one who saved these officers and my daughter when Batman could not." Gordon said before going to the rest of the officers to take care of the defeated monster.

Spidey sighed before starting to swing away, going to the cave in his own way.

 **Elsewhere…**

The man in green entered the apartment, still laughing from the earlier confrontation. He was in a dream, he fought two heroes at the same time and managed to return to his home barely tired.

"This stuff is great, can't wait to try again, those loser won't boss me around anymore…"

When he finished his sentence he heard a laugh behind him, he quickly turned around. But still received three bullets in his chest, making fall to the ground with a grunt. He looked up to see the Clown himself, grinning widely as he lightly blew on the tip of his silenced oversized pistol.

"You know the best part about being me? It's not caring about people dying, as long as it's fun. You made me smile for a bit, but you disappointed me when you called me a bad name. You are right on one thing: I won't boss you around no more. And besides, you were just a trial run." With these words he shot the man in the head, slowly forming a pool of blood on the ground.

"Too bad, I actually thought about using you again. At least now I know it's fun. Don't worry, you will be replaced shortly enough, there are many guys who would want this too." The Joker walked away calmly, but not before putting a joker card on his dead body. "I'll send my regards to the heroes, pretty sure they will love this. Don't you agree?"

He calmly laughed while walking out of the apartment, getting in a car waiting for him and driving away.

* * *

A/N: That the 10th chapter everyone. Hope you enjoyed!


	11. Rejection and kidnapping

Anything in _Italic_ means the character is thinking to him/herself.

 **Rejection and kidnapping**

Barbara was recovering on a bed in the batcave, Bruce had taken care of her while waiting for Spider-man and Alfred eventually took over until she woke up. She had been lucky in her bad luck: The titan did not have time to do irreversible damage, she would recover in time. Although it would require a good alibi for her condition. Batman had an idea, but he wanted to wait for Peter first.

 _I don't know how Peter just threw a car effortlessly, but at least now I know he really comes from another world. He's lucky I saw stranger things before. I can understand why he did not tell me, even if I would've preferred he did, it would have removed some questions earlier. The serum is almost complete, the sun is rising: Batman will take the day off, Spider-man will take it._

His thought were interrupted by Spider-man almost bursting through the door and jumping so far he actually landed in front of Bruce.

"How is she?" he asked in a panicked tone.

"She's safe don't worry, she woke up already." He answered and observed the giant sigh Peter did. "You have one more thing to do before you can take the day off: bring the completed cure to Jim and definitely rid the titan of his condition."

"You really have some great gear, ya know…"

"Unfortunatly, since I don't have more specifics on this new formula, the cure may have some side-effects. Even the computer was not able to narrow the possible side-effects possibilities. We will have to keep an eye on this man until further notice." He completed before Peter could finish his sentence. Making the young man sigh again but still nod.

"I think that after this night's foiled attack, this day will be calmer. When the cure is administered, rest. But still be on the ready if something happens."

"Story of my life, I can't even remember a date that I did not have to cancel because something happened…" Peter joked while shrugging his shoulder.

Batman nodded but kept a straight face before continuing.

"Barbara's current state has to be explained, but you won't have to do it."

"Good thing, and what is the reason?"

"A car almost hit her but you took most of the impact."

"How in the world will the commissioner believe that?"

"Because Batman will tell him." He answered a little dryly.

"Well that's enough reason for me, hehe."

Batman heard a small sound coming from the lab and went to grab the injector, now filled with the completed cure. He looked at it for a second and almost wondered how Peter could consider creating ties to this world if he'll have to go. He did not like the idea of his departure, he was an excellent partner and a hero. He returned to the main room to give the injector to Peter.

"Peter, there is a thing you must know: I know what you've been hiding from us." Peter almost took a step back at this.

"What?"

"A friend of mine informed me of something that happened at the same day you arrived and it confirmed my doubts, I saw things even stranger than this. And I can understand why you did not tell us earlier, but you should have told us you came from another world."

Spider-man was so tense he was almost in a defensive stance. It was not how he planned it.

"Well since you know that, you also know that I will have to leave eventually, I was sent here to help you defeat something that I was told you could not defeat without me. I know some…things I would want here, I can never have. But I will not stop helping you because of that. The one who sent me assured me my world would be safe until I return."

"Glad to hear it." Bruce said. "Now go, we have to make sure this monster does not come back."

"Yes sir!" He looked at Batgirl who was looking at them, dressed normally and still in pain, and extended his hand.

"Come on, let's get you back to your dad." With these words she grabbed his hand and they left the cave before he picked her up and started swinging their way to the GCPD.

Bruce called the commissioner's number and informed him of the "situation" before turning on the batcomputer to track the signal of the emitter Batgirl put on the man she fought. He deliberately kept this information from Peter because he had his own problems right now. He picked up the signal in an apartment and prepared himself for an investigation. He would have to do it as Bruce Wayne though, Batman was asleep right now. Alfred followed him when he left the cave.

"Master Bruce, maybe you should consider taking the day off as well. Bruce Wayne has to sleep once in a while. I am looking at you and I see someone who did not sleep in days. Rest before you faint from exhaustion." Alfred asked Bruce who was dressing normally in one of his expensive suits.

Bruce considered it for a second and sighed.

"I will visit this apartment, I will only bring minimal equipment and I will contact you if I find trouble, I am not planning on fighting today."

"Very well, but please rest afterward, you need it." Bruce smiled a little at that.

"Fine, but I must do this." With these words he took only a few gadgets and left in one of his Lamborghinis, after all, it was the most normal vehicle Bruce Wayne owned.

 **With Barbara and Spider-man…**

When they finally arrived at the GCPD, Barbara holding onto him during the web-slinging part, Peter wondered what in the world was going to happen when Gordon would see his daughter.

 _Well at least it can't really be THAT bad because Batman informed him…I hope he was convincing, I hate messing up when I meet "The father" everytime… At least since the recent attacks, no one is even walking close to this building…Privacy power._ He lightly chuckled at his own joke.

Peter jumped in front of the main entrance and knocked on the big metal door, visibly reinforced since the last time he saw it, then he saw Barbara looking at him. He lightly tilted his head.

Barbara knew he had feelings for her, and even if it was painful for both of them, she had to dismiss those feelings. She knew she would surely hurt him, but she had no choice.

 _Why is this happening? I finally like someone and he will have to leave forever… I have to convince him there is nothing, for his sake._

"Spider-man…I overheard your conversation with my dad last time." She said while looking at him.

"Huh…"

"You don't need to explain anything, but you must know I don't think it is a very good idea, you will suffer when you have to leave. There is little chance we will see each other again when you leave." She almost cried when she continued, but hid it and kept her calm tone. "And…I'm sorry, I don't return those feelings, I don't want to give you false hope and I would not want you making mistakes because of that, there will never be anything between us." Because of the mask, she could not see his expression, but his arm suddenly dropped from her side. The thing that made it worse is that he was not responding, not talking or trying to contradict her.

In his head, Peter was broken, he did not know why. He barely knew her a few days and he felt destroyed by her speech. He had nothing to answer, he felt cold, alone.

 _Why did I even think she did… I was stupid, I can't create any kind of ties here, I don't belong here. Anyway, wherever I go, I'm alone, and when I do have someone, they leave._

The door opened and Gordon saw the two, he immediately knew something was up, the young hero was silent, no greeting, he only turned to him.

"Your daughter is safe, no need to worry." He gave the injector to the commissioner. "Inject this in the titan, it will completely destroy what is left of titan serum in him."

Jim was surprised, the web-slinger was never this serious nor minimalist in his speech. He turned to his daughter and even if she had a normal expression, he felt it was a "mask".

Without a word, Spider-man just nodded and left the two standing there, swinging out of view.

Gordon took her in the office and his daughter noticed there was almost no one in the building. She thought everyone would be there…

"Why is everyone gone?"

"Almost everyone is busy dealing with the collateral damage the monster caused before the heroes stopped him. I stayed behind with just a few officers to help me deal with the paperwork and the usual stuff." He got her to the nurse's office. "Now will you tell me what happened to him? He was too serious and he did not speak enough." Barbara cringed at the question but answered as honestly as she could.

"I overheard your discussion with him last time one the roof, I was hiding in the staircase." She said with regret in her eyes. "I told him that I would never return his feelings and that he could not jeopardize the life of others over mine because of false hopes."

Jim heard this and, even if her intention was noble, he was a little disappointed and worried. He knew what a heartbreak does to a man, and with his powers he could become dangerous.

 _Even if he does not become a criminal, he might change. She might not realize it, but I know he is badly hurt right now._

"Tell me, and be honest, did you tell the complete truth to him?"

"I…"

"Yeah, I thought so, I saw your look when he left. You were hiding it, but you were sad as well. It was a very hard decision to make to protect the life of others. But be aware that you exposed yourself again, and that things will go back like before. The nurse will check you, then we will go home." With these words he went to the cell blocks to inject the ex-monster and left her with the nurse, unaware that she was now afraid that she made a mistake.

 _What if he leaves earlier? Did I destroy the hero that was here for the sole purpose of helping us?_

 **With Bruce, at the apartment…**

Bruce arrived at the apartment, not surprised that the entire block was almost devoid of life. Usually in this city you could tell where criminals were just by checking the number of pedestrians, or lack of.

He parked his car, not really caring about it since he had bigger problems (and because he had spares). And after checking around him for witnesses, entered the apartment through the back door, seemingly unlocked.

 _Someone must've got out without locking it behind him, the emitter did not move an inch since yesterday, I must assume the worst._ He thought while putting special goggles and gloves.

The apartment was deserted, not a single sound or movement. Eventually he entered a room and he saw someone on the ground. He quickly scanned him, revealing he's been dead for several hours.

 _Four bullet wounds, three in the chest and one in the head. I assume the weapon must have been silenced to avoid unwanted attention._

He saw the Joker card on his body and picked it up. He was almost about to crush it when he realised the card had something written on the back.

"Not funny"

Bruce thought about it, at least it cleared the question of who and how, but it still did not answer why.

 _Knowing him it must be on a whim, but why kill a powerful ally? There is nothing to gain…Unless he could make more…We have a real problem now. I will return tonight but I must tell Peter and Barbara about this…_

He picked the card and was about to leave when he heard footsteps coming from outside the room, he quickly but silently went to a corner and pressed on his watch to call for Spider-man, he knew Batgirl was probably with her father right now so she was not reliable.

 _Alfred was right, Bruce Wayne should have taken the day off. I only hear two pair of footsteps, easy if I was Batman right now._ He thought before hearing the men talk.

"The car in front is really sweet, whoever's inside must be loaded!"

"You really think that this car is owned by someone with a crappy place like this? You really are a dumbass, there is obviously some rich guy who parked here that's all. Now let's get to work."

 _Two regular thugs, they don't even know who owns the place. I must take them out quickly, they can't see my face._ He braced himself, still hidden beside the door. _If they walk far enough, I could knock them both from behind, let's hope they do, I won't have two chances like this._

The door of the room opened and the two men made a few steps, passing Bruce, before seeing the body. Both of them seemed to freeze in shock before one of them started yelling.

"Oh my god! Let's get out of he…" Was all he could say before his comrade's head was smash into his, knocking both out.

 _Lucky for me they were not killers, just petty thieves. They probably never even saw a corpse before._

Bruce calmly walked out, removing his goggles, and climbed back in his Lamborghini, mentally swearing he would return during the night. There was more in that room that met the eye. He wondered what Peter was up to since this morning.

 _Probably just swinging around, trying to save someone. Too bad he will have to leave, he could have been a formidable asset for Gotham._

His thought were interrupted by his phone ringing, he looked at the number and then answered. While driving away he started talking.

"Mr. Fox, I was not expecting a call from you today, something important?"

"Actually yes Mister Wayne, I would like to see this new recruit of yours that is using the suit I made."

"He's not really a recruit, he is a hero of his own but he is on our side. But why would you want to see him?"

"It seems the new feature Miss Gordon asked me to include in the suit was not entirely functional, after too many uses the feature may stop working due to the material not made for prolonged use. The material was the prototype of a light military spy armor that could change color to blend in the environment with more efficiency, but it was never used in a real situation because of the cost of the material. If the suit would malfunction in a… Let's say important situation, he may reveal himself too soon…"

"I see, I will inform him of the situation and send him to you. Anything else?"

"There is also the fact that I may have found something about this new formula you informed me about, after a few simulations based on the data you sent, it would seem the effects vary between individuals, the monster you fought could very well be the only one, but it also could be the weakest. I need more samples if we want to mass produce an antidote for a potential outbreak, need I remind you of the last time something like that was released on Gotham?"

"No need, I will find Spider-man and we will come to you at Wayne Towers. I think you may want to work with him, he is also gifted in the way of science and technology. Except for the suit you provided, he made all his gear himself."

"Interesting, a powerful yet brilliant ally, you seem to choose your allies wisely Mister Wayne." Bruce smiled a little then he saw Peter in his rear-view mirror, swinging after him, probably following the signal he sent.

"I have to go, goodbye Mr. Fox." He hung up as Spider-man swung beside his car, strangely quiet.

"Fox wants to meet us at Wayne Towers tonight, you want…" He did not finish as Spider-man made a sharp turn and left with only a brief nod.

 _That's weird, no hello? I'll ask him later. Now I have to respect my promise to Alfred, just for the day…_

 **With Peter…**

Peter was swinging as fast as he could, desperately trying to find a criminal. He was still cold and angry, he wanted to finish his task here and leave as soon as possible.

After several minutes he heard distant yells and it took him out of his negative thoughts. He looked around and cursed himself as he finally noticed the smoke in the distance, his state of mind went from angry to focused. He quickly swung to the source and saw that the fire came from a big house, numerous pedestrians and policemen watching the blazr in horror. It took Peter a few seconds to recognize the house that was on fire.

It was Jim Gordon's house.

 _Gordon, Barbara…_

In a split-second, he examined the house: It was a two-floor house, simple and quick to search. He launched himself through a window, vaguely hearing some people yelling his "name". He landed in the second floor, searching desperately for any sign of anyone. Breaking every door he met with his bare hands, he found the commissioner on the ground under a piece of ceiling, he noticed he had a bruise on the side of his head. Peter threw away the piece of wood and picked him up before jumping out of the closest window.

He landed in front of the crowd, carrying Gordon and giving him to police officers before jumping back up and using his webs to propel himself back inside, not even aware of the reporters and journalists in the crowd. He searched everywhere, sometimes calling her name for an answer, he was starting to seriously panic.

 _Don't let her be dead…the way I left her, this can't be happening again…_

As the building was starting to fall apart, Gordon woke up and watched from the outside as Spider-man was searching a building that was about to collapse. Paramedics showed up and tried to help him despite his protests as he hoped the hero would get out. His daughter was not in the house at all, it was worse.

Peter was aware the building was about to burst, even he was starting to weaken despite his durability. He ripped off every closet door he found, busted through the attic door, nothing. He was about to give up when he realised something: if she was dead, he would've at least found her remains, but nothing.

 _She's not here at all…_

As he was about to jump he saw a picture of Barbara and her father on the ground, he picked it up before he jumped out, just as something exploded behind him and the ceiling collapsed. He landed outside the house, succeeding in recovering mid-air and landing on his feet. In a second the yells turned to cheers as he was "assaulted" for his bravery. For a brief second, he was happy, but then remembered the thing that was important and jumped over the crowd to land in front of the commissioner, looking at him in the eyes. Gordon walked to him and shook his hand before quickly whispering to him.

"Follow my lead, we can't cause a panic, I'll tell you everything after this." As Peter was about to protest he talked again, this time out loud.

"Thank you Spider-man! You saved the day again." In the second that followed journalists were on him, taking picture, but one actually asked something.

"Why do you risk your life? You could have died in that fire!" Peter thought and decided to put his bad mood aside and take this chance of making Spider-man officialy public.

"I do what I do because I can, I use everything I have to help those who are in danger. With great power, comes great responsibility." He answered to the camera before throwing a web and swinging away from the crowd, still concerned in his mind. The fire crew then and took over.

 **With Bruce, at Wayne manor…**

Bruce looked at the news, intrigued by the sudden incident. He knows Barbara is alive, Peter would never even try to leave that building without her if she was there. He saw the sun slowly setting as he slowly sipped the hot chocolate Alfred brought him. He slowly went to the batcave and approached his suit.

"Time to work." Alfred walked behind him as he was putting on the suit.

"Sir you may consider taking another look at the news first."

Bruce turned on the news on the batcomputer and saw the little speech Peter made for the camera before swinging away.

 _This was not how he looked like when I met him. I have some questions…_

 **Back with Peter, a few hours later…**

Peter was waiting at the top of the GCPD, impatient and pacing. The door opened to reveal Gordon, with a grave look on his face.

"I think you already know Barbara was not in the house when you arrived."

"What happened?" Peter simply asked.

Gordon made a small sigh while rubbing the bandage he had on the side of his head.

"When Barbara and I arrived at the house we were ambushed by a group of men waiting for us, they were too many and we could not fight them off. I was knocked out and they probably took her before setting the house on fire."

Peter clenched his hands and lowly growled before talking.

"I failed her, and you. I should have been there…"

"I know what she said to you before you left, you had every reason to be elsewhere."

"That does not justify anything, what kind of hero am I if I can't even be there for someone I know is a potential target?!" He almost yelled in anger

"One who does not realise he can't be at two places at once." A deep voice answered. Both of them turned to see Batman walking out from the darkness.

"What do we do now? We have no way of knowing where they took her…" Gordon said sadly.

"Not necessarily, how were the men dressed?" Batman asked as Spider-man listened to the questioning.

"They were not dressed normally, they all wore reinforced gear from head to toe, I did not even see their faces."

"Probably some bought officers or disguised thugs, I assume they had weapons?"

"No, they were unarmed but they knew how to fight."

Batman seemed in thoughts for a moment before he nodded.

"Thanks for your help Jim, come with me Spider-man." He simply said before gliding away. Peter turned to Gordon one last time.

"I swear I will bring her back, even if it is the last thing I do."

"I have faith."

Peter swung away and caught up with Batman. His anger had dissipated, he realized why she said what she said, even if she did not know it would not affect his values. More than once he had to choose between his happiness and the safety of many. If she knew him, she wouldn't have said what she said…at least part of it.

 _We'll get her back…_

* * *

 _A/N: This the 11th chapter everyone. i am announcing the updates will now slow down because of college, sorry._

 _Still, i'll do my best. Hope you enjoyed, thanks everyone._


	12. Track and the enemy

Anything in _Italic_ means the character is thinking.

 **The track and the enemy**

As the two heroes arrived on the scene of the remains of Gordon's house, Peter remembered how he left the picture of Barbara in the GCPD. He laughed internally at the fact that he managed to retrieve that during the blaze, and even more at the memories of how the officers reacted when he threw and stuck the picture on a wall.

 _Best reaction ever…Gotta keep focused here…_

Luckily for them, the entire block was almost deserted, leaving them alone to investigate the charred remains. Peter was however skeptic about their chances of finding anything in a burned place.

"You really sure we can actually find something here? I don't think we will find much leads in ashes…"

"You would be surprised. Search for potential ripped off pieces of clothing, Jim said that they briefly fought with the kidnappers, chances are someone ended up wounded or clothing was damaged." Batman answered gravely, he was serious. Spider-man nodded and started to search around.

In truth, Bruce had very little hope they would find anything intact, but ashes stick to boots and clothes…He activated his detective vision, his eyes now faintly flashing.

 _Jim said they had armored clothing from head to toe, including heavy or combat boots. If we find anything here, it will be prints, from foot or tires…_

They searched around, Peter sometime crawling under various burnt objects to look, but after a while he seemed lost. He was feeling guilty for the entire situation, if he had been there, Barbara would still be here. But the worst was that he left her the same way he left his uncle Ben the last time he spoke to him, selfishly. He was getting angrier and more worried by the minutes.

At some point Bruce finally found what he wanted to find thanks to his scanner: it was very faint and it was a miracle it was still there, but there were prints of heavy boots, too heavy to belong to policemen or citizens. He made a signal to Peter and the latter jumped to his side.

"We won't be able to follow the tracks, but if I'm able to really identify the boots, we can at least know where they originally got their equipment." He pressed a button on his belt and the Batmobile, very slowly, arrived behind them. He then activated the forensic scanner and climbed in the Batmobile to see the result. Spider-man quickly landed on the trunk.

 _He should be cautious, the car's integrated circuits are off right now, he could have been hurt…I forgot, his sixth sense would have probably warned him. I wonder how he can underestimate such an ability…_

He looked at the analysis at the same time as Peter, whose worried stare could be felt through his mask. The prints were extremely faint but the computer managed to find a match. The boots were definitely designed to resist extreme temperature and trauma just by their size. Judging by the size and weight, the computer calculated their best bet would be military or fire department.

 _I'll take care of the other, he his more qualified for the fire department's search._ He quickly gave a small handheld scanner to Peter.

"Spider-man, you will go and search the two closest fire department building for a possible match, use this to inspect the equipment thoroughly. I will take care of the military records."

"Allright, but please contact me if you find anything." With these words he leaped and swung away.

 _I hate doing this, but I must do this on my own. Peter can't help me much with this particular investigation, and besides, I have another one._

He drove away while calling for Lucius Fox on the car's communicator.

"Mr. Wayne, what can I do for you?"

"I'm sending you right now the analysis of foot prints I discovered, please try and find where the boots come from."

"Will do…I must warn, these prints are very degraded, how you managed to even see them is almost beyond me, it may take a while, even for our best computers."

"Do what you can." With that he hung up and drove to the apartment where he last saw the body and the two thieves who probably had the scare of their life when they woke up.

 **Later…**

Like he predicted, the body was untouched, the petty thieves were probably too scared to touch it and they did not even call the emergency number. Now that he had all his gear he resumed his inspection, beginning with deep-tissue scanning and ballistic analyzer.

The bullets were not completely destroyed after the man died, the Joker must have been at almost point blank range, the bullets matched the weapon the Joker almost always carry, and it is not the first time he found those bullets in a body. The scan revealed the man had abnormal muscle development and skin toughness, maybe the reason why the Joker shot at such close range.

 _This man could have fought me with his bare hands, I would not be surprised if he could shrug off even my strongest attacks, no wonder Batgirl was so easily fought off. The only reason he did not seriously injure her was he probably did not know how to fight._

Batman then examined the weird bag that rested on his side, still attached to the suit. He opened it to reveal a couple of weird orange small bombs. Despite their size, the detective vision and the chemical scanner indicated that those things were far more powerful than simple grenades. That was what he needed: this kind of bomb is not found anywhere, and he knows only one of his enemies capable of such creations that was relying on henchmen: Hugo Strange.

 _I'm not fool enough to disregard any other possibilities, since Strange never had any preference for colored bombs that looks more like little pumpkins. But this is our best lead so far._ With that last thought he was about to leave when he received a call from Alfred. He answered while walking out.

"What is it Alfred?"

"Sir it is urgent, the blood sample of Spider-man you had tests running on… The lab computer gave a signal and when I checked it, it would appear the black particles we found in his blood cells are stimulated by violent trauma or stress."

"That I already knew."

"Yes, but it seems that every time the particles are stimulated, they seem to slightly detach themselves from the original blood cells. I am not an expert in this area, I may be wrong, but you should take a look at it, I'm sending the data to the Batmobile now."

"Thanks Alfred." Bruce cut off the communication and then hurried to the car to look at the data while driving.

 _The particles are not just separating from the cells, they are becoming independent again. If what Peter said is true, this creature may have left more than just leftovers. I was wrong to think this would not go any further, I must find a way to destroy those particles from his body. After we save Barbara._

With that scary thought he called the Batwing and a few minutes later the car and him were in the air, flying to Wayne Towers, hoping Lucius had found something.

 **With Peter…**

The first fire station was a dead end, nothing but nice firemen who thanked him and clean equipment all over the storage room. When he arrived at the second, he heard talking and laughing inside, as if a group of people were joking together. He entered through a window and stuck to the ceiling. He quickly and to his relief found that it was just eight firemen talking to each other. He lowered himself behind one of them, hanging upside-down. All of them jumped at the surprise but quickly calmed down.

"Sorry for the reaction hero, we are just not used to people sneaking up on us like that…I mean from the ceiling…" A fireman said while smiling.

"Heh, can't really blame you, I know spiders tend to be unloved when indoors." Peter said which made everyone in the room laugh a little before Spider-man got down and landed on his feet.

"So what are you here for? Did we do something?"

"No no…but I am on a possible lead for a kidnapping and the fire stations are my first stop. Don't worry, I ain't accusing any of you, I just need to know some stuff."

The firemen looked at each other for a second then one of them approached him.

"I am the Chief here, you helped us last time, and it is only fair that we help you."

"I did not expect reward for what I do. But thanks. Did your gear got cleaned lately?"

"Not really, with the last fire we were busy and there is just us left here for the night…Why?"

"I would like to check every piece of gear you recently used." The Chief looked at him weirdly but shrugged.

"Very well, the equipment is all in the back."

Peter followed him but suddenly realized a few things. First: Even if they are not many, fireman gear is always maintained. Second: last time he saw this station, or any station, during a night swing, there was dozens of firemen, not just eight. Third: He was not THAT funny.

 _Weird, but I can't say anything with just that…let's just focus on the task here._

When they arrived, he saw that the "back" was a storage room with gear covering every wall. _This might take a while…_

"Thanks Chief, I'll take it from here." The Chief answered with simply a nod before leaving.

Peter looked at every boot he found but never saw ashes on them. It was natural, he was in the fire, not them. In his searching he touched a wall behind a uniform and it seemed different from the rest of the surfaces. He looked around and then, using only one finger, pushed and the "wall" fell.

 _It's like painted cardboard…what the hell?_

He saw a bag inside, it did not make sense to him.

 _Okay, that's weird…Spider-sense!_

He jumped to the ceiling just in time to evade an axe, held by the "Chief".

"I figured you were not clear…Who are you guys?" Peter asked as he lightly pressed on his wrist to record this.

"We thought you would be too stupid to find them, but since you are a tad smarter than expected, we'll just have to kill…"He did not finish his sentence as he was pulled up with a web, ending up hanging from Spidey's hand that held him by his collar.

 _He is gonna spit it out…_

He jumped down, still holding the man in the air, and whispered.

"You're going to call your men here, choose your words carefully." He asked before jumping up and pressing on his arm. The man was slightly shaking.

"Guys, come here!" As he said that, the other seven "firemen" entered the storage room and were surprised to see their leader tensed.

"You allright boss?"

"No" Peter said as he jumped down, now in his black attire.

The seven of them jumped on him and he just sidestepped and knocked them out easily one by one, he picked the leader again.

"Who are you thugs? Don't make me repeat myself."

"We are paid by Penguin, our only order was to give some gear and delay the arrival of the other firemen! Please I've talked…"

At these words, Peter quickly moved his hand from his collar to his throat, and started squeezing, making the man cough.

"You feel this? This is but a fraction of what the commissioner and his daughter felt when their house burned. I should…" He then realized he was overdoing it and let the man fall to the ground.

"Batman will be a puppy compared to me if you don't tell me everything." He asked in the darkest voice he could muster, which was not that dark, but still had the desired effect.

"We gave the fire-proof boots to the guys so they could not be traced back and we were supposed to get rid of them afterwards…"

"That did not work out for you huh?"

"…And we called in the other firemen elsewhere while the guys were doing their job, I swear I did not know the details I was getting paid that's all! I don't even know where they are or who they are I swear!"

"So corrupted, all for money you won't benefit from anyway. You're so stupid you bought my act. You're not even worth my time." He threw him with the rest of his knocked out men and webbed them all together before grabbing the bag and leaving. But not before calling the police with the "address".

As he was swinging with the bag, he pressed on the side of his mask to know where Bruce was. He was at Wayne Towers.

 _He'll have a big surprise when I'll show this…_

 **Back with Batman…**

Bruce was with Lucius, who had succeeded in finding a match for the boot mark.

"Judging by the material, it would seem the boots that were used were firemen gear, I would not be surprised to find them in the bottom of the Gotham River by now, mind you…"

"That means we are back to square one on the kidnappers, but not necessarily on the mastermind. What do you think of this Mr. Fox?" Bruce asked as he showed him one of the small orange bombs. He looked at it for a second.

"An original design I must say, I don't think one of your opponents used this model yet am I right? This could be the work of Riddler…"

"I don't think so, he's would not let anyone else than him defeat me, I found this on the body of a henchman, killed by the Joker."

"Then that leave Mr. Strange and Freeze."

"I don't think Freeze is behind this, he is not the kidnapping and blackmail type." He declared before they heard a mocking voice behind them.

"Never fear, Spider-man is here with a gift!"

Batman and Lucius turned around to see Spidey, still in black, holding a big bag on his shoulder. Fox approached him and looked at him suspiciously.

"How did you get in without us knowing it?"

"Vents, spiders can crawl on any surface remember? There is a giant opening on the roof." He mockingly said. Bruce frowned a little but said nothing as he dropped the bag on a table in the room.

"I found those hidden in a fake wall inside the storage room of a fire station, full of fake firemen whom were accomplices in the kidnapping. You were right to send me there, oh and listen to this." He played the recording while getting the equipment out of the bag. "I figured they would get rid of it, but they were too lazy to do it themselves so they gave them to those idiots in the hope they do it. Did not work well." He said while chuckling.

"I'm impressed Spider-man, you would probably make a good detective." Lucius declared.

"Nah, just pure luck and stupid criminals, anyone could have done that." He paused for a second then talked more seriously. "Where is Penguin now? The guy squirmed but he did not know that."

"Thanks to your discovery, we finally know who the mastermind is, even if I'm surprised it is Cobblepot." Lucius said. "I am surprised he could make something like that." He lifted the bomb and Peter snatched it from his hand.

"A pumpkin bomb…Where did you find this?"

Batman knew he had no choice now but to tell him since Peter seemed to know more.

"I found it on the body of the man in green you and Batgirl fought, he was killed by the Joker."

"Do you think some of your enemies could have teamed up?"

"Unlikely, at least on the long term…"

"But if someone more powerful would gather them, would they do it?"

"Maybe out of fear, but not the Joker, he would probably just take advantage of the situation to cause more destruction. Where did you see that?"

Peter hesitated for a few seconds but answered.

"The pumpkin bombs are the main weapons of the Green Goblin."

Bruce made wide eyes for a second, it would seem that Peter was not sent here by chance. But if he was as dangerous as he said, the city is in great danger. He saw Spider-man looking outside through one of the big windows and pressing on his suit to revert back to red and blue. Lucius smiled a little.

"It would seem you use this little feature as an intimidation method more than a practical one Spider-man." Peter turned his head to look at him.

"Yeah, and it seems to work so far, the criminals are afraid of the dark in this city."

"Speaking of this feature, I am warning you that it may stop working at some point if you use it too much, the material was not made for prolonged use…"

"Aww…I was starting to have fun with this gimmick. Why the warning?"

"What happens if you are blending in the darkness and you suddenly revert back? You are not particularly discreet in red and blue…" Batman said quickly before Lucius could answer. Peter scratched the back of his head.

"Guess you're right, is there a solution?"

"I would need the suit back for some time so I can test and study it further." Fox said.

"Allright, just let me make another suit first…"

"You'll make yourself another one in the cave, we have to go back there anyway." Bruce interrupted before nodding to Lucius and walking away silently.

"I guess Batman there will send you the suit, is there anything else?"

"I wanted to talk to you since I heard from him that you are brilliant."

"Huh, well I'll come see you when we get her back. Thanks for the warning." With these words he ran after Batman.

 **In the Batcave…**

Bruce was on the computer while Spider-man was using the equipment to make himself a new suit so he could send the upgraded back to Lucius. As he was narrowing the possible locations for the kidnappers he was also realizing many things.

 _I remember when we first met he fainted after the beam fell on him, but my guess is that it was the body reacting from the first stimulation of those particles combined with the injury. He is too durable to fall unconscious so easily. I am still skeptic about his recent behavior, he seems even cockier than before, if that's possible…_.

After several minutes Bruce heard the sound of Peter's web-shooters and saw the familiar red and blue hero land beside him.

"I think I'm going to miss the other one a little, it was nice to have new gadgets. So, where are we with their location? The night is almost over."

Batman frowned but showed him what the computer found while explaining.

"While you were sewing over there I used the Batwing remotely and the computer to search the city for possible locations the Penguin could be hiding in. And there is two possible places: His Iceberg Lounge night club and the construction site I discovered after following Penguin's trail from the warehouse you left him. Said construction site has indeed been bought by Oswald Cobblepot to build another night club…"

"Why would the guy need another night club? And why in the world is he even capable of buying a damn building on a whim without every authority inspecting it?!" Peter almost yelled in anger. Bruce looked at him with a brow raised and continued.

"The Iceberg Lounge is a legal night club, but it is just a front as it also serves for illegal bargains and other activities, I am monitoring this place from time to time while disguised and lately he is absent from his main club."

"Don't tell me, you suspect he is hiding in his night club to-be?"

"Indeed, may I ask what is wrong with you? You seem a little angrier than before."

"Of course I'm angry: I've been launched in the most corrupted place I've ever seen with little information, I fought a giant monster that almost killed Barbara twice, I've learned that the symbiote left traces of him, and to top it all I've been rejected and tossed aside by the first person since Gwen that I've…" He only then realized what he just said and stopped talking and turned his head away.

Bruce looked at him and realized what memories he just brought back in Peter's mind. He also understood why he was so angry when they met before the fire: Barbara probably rejected him moments ago.

 _I can understand his behavior, but I still can't completely assume that the creature is not involved._

"Talking about this won't solve anything, we must focus on getting her back." Bruce said while Peter lightly nodded and looked back at the screen.

"The sun is rising, I'll eat something then Peter Parker will pay a visit to the night club." Peter said, his tone less angry than before.

"Be cautious Peter, this place is dangerous despite the appearance, don't forget it is the main base of operation of one of the biggest crime lord in Gotham."

"I'll find something, Don't forget that since I work for Bruce Wayne, I have an asset that will get me inside easily: Money. And if I find nothing I'll go to the site." He said while chuckling a little. He then proceeded to leave the Batcave. Leaving Batman in front of the computer.

 _At least he is motivated, though I pity the thugs that will get in his way. He is on Penguin's trail, Bruce Wayne will have to pay a visit to the GCPD and to Wayne Towers for info. Batman will have to wait the night to get out._ He thought.

As he removed his suit, he wondered about every single way this could go wrong, still worried about Peter's condition.

 **Elsewhere…**

Barbara was laying on the ground, blindfolded and tied in the dark room she was in since the last day. She could barely move. She tried to struggle out, but she could not fight without revealing her identity. After hours of struggling against her binds she gave up on trying to break them. At this point she just hoped Batman or Spider-man would come and save her. She could not stop thinking about the last time she spoke to him, about his reaction, about her lie.

Suddenly she heard a door opening and footsteps approaching. She instinctively sit up and flexed her leg, ready to kick at the slightest opportunity. The footsteps stopped and she only heard a sinister laugh.

"You are quite impressive you know that? You still resist, despite your situation. But I will comfort you: Someone is coming to save you. Whether he will succeed or not is still not clear. But I don't care about where we are, he made the mistake of caring for someone again. You are lucky the other idiots are merely thieves." He then laughed again, harder.

Barbara flinched a little at the voice, the sheer evil in it was unreal. It reminded her of the Joker's but with a little more brain behind it.

"Who are you?" she asked while still being on her guard.

"Well, since you will know it pretty soon anyway…" With these words he brutally removed her blindfold.

The man was wearing a green suit of armor, it reminded her of Batman's titanium-plated suit a little. The armor was seemingly a one-piece except for the mask, which was even worse than the rest. The helmet looked like a nightmarish version of a goblin with yellow eyes and an opening over the mouth area that actually looked like a mouth with small pointy teeth.

"I am the Green Goblin, and your precious Spider-man will come to save you. I don't care about the stupid ransom these imbeciles want using you. You will die in his arms, knowing he is the only one responsible for your death. And when he is broken, I will kill him. Happy thinking." With these last words he left the room and closed the door, not even caring about the blindfold.

Barbara looked around, finding out that she was in a small storage room with only one steel door as a way out. For a second she almost lost hope but then she remembered the gift from Spider-man. She tried to get the small spider out of her pocket but without her hand it was impossible.

 _I must reach him somehow, it cannot end like this. This madman does not know who I am. Come on Barbara there must be a way…_

She suddenly had an idea, it was risky but worth a shot. She very slowly rolled on the floor, and suddenly heard a barely audible beeping sound.

 _YES! Please Peter see it…For both our sake._

* * *

So this is the 12th chapter everyone. Thanks for the reviews it always help. Don't hesitate to leave one.

Sorry for the slow updates. Hope you enjoyed. See you in the next chapter!


	13. Investigation and the Reunion

Anything in _Italic_ means the character is thinking.

Investigation and the Reunion

Even though he was worried about Barbara and wanted to do everything to get her back, Peter felt some kind of confidence boost. He had no fear of going in the Iceberg Lounge, even though it was the hideout of a crime lord. He had bought a nice suit for the visit and withdrew enough money to get in, he liked "working" for Bruce Wayne. He however informed himself a little about the place and its owner first with the help of Alfred, who also gave him a phone and a watch, the watch being a communication device in case something happened to the phone.

 _Get in, have a chat with the fatty, get on his good side, and hopefully he will give me an opportunity to get answers from him. Can't be too hard right?_ He thought as he casually walked to the night club, some people looking at him briefly as he passed them.

He hoped he would find her, he just could not let history repeat itself. For some reason, even if he was angry, he was not feeling the strange burn from before. He dismissed it and focused on the task at hand. Bruce told him the place was a front, so everything he would see would probably be bought with dirty money, or stolen.

 _When Spider-man gets a hold of him again, he'll go straight to jail. But not before I draw every single information from him._ He thought as he neared the location, briefly wondering what Bruce was doing.

 **With Bruce…**

Bruce was at Wayne Towers, being greeted by everyone on the way up. He was growing weary of this entire situation. Unknown to everyone, Bruce was carrying Spider-man's upgraded costume in his briefcase, he almost smiled at the scenario of someone seeing the suit and assuming he is the young hero.

When he arrived on the top floor, he walked to his office and saw Lucius was already there. But something was off: He looked agitated.

"Mr. Fox, what is wrong?" he asked while locking the door behind him.

"I discovered something with the boots Spider-man brought us. The boots in question are almost completely saturated with a chemical powder, one that is only found at Ace Chemicals."

"That is good news, I'm calling him right no…" he was interrupted before he could get the phone out of his suit.

"Let me finish, the strange thing is that these particular boots were reported stolen months ago…" Bruce instantly understood the possibility.

"So the men in the fire departments may be under surveillance, or at least regularly checked. Which means Spider-man's attack on the corrupted firemen is already known. They will be more cautious…"

"Which may prove dangerous for Miss Gordon." Lucius finished.

Bruce lost himself in thoughts for a second, pondering the risks.

 _They most likely know that Spider-man brutalized their accomplices for info about Barbara's whereabouts. And Peter is going straight to their leader. I must find a way to warn him. He can't go there like this, the instant Penguin will suspect any kind of trickery, he will try to kill him. And Peter Parker is no fighter without his mask. Barbara could be hurt as a result of the threat._ Bruce thought while giving the briefcase to Lucius.

Lucius opened it to reveal the suit he made. But Bruce suddenly heard an almost inaudible sound coming from the suit he did not hear before. Bruce quickly put on the mask, which was too tight for his taste, and checked the glove: A spider-tracer had been activated and was giving off a signal. When Bruce saw where the signal was coming from, he removed the mask and immediately began typing on his phone.

"What is it Mr. Wayne? Where was the signal?" Lucius asked in worry.

"Iceberg Lounge, it was sent several minutes ago." Bruce simply answered while Peter's phone rang. He hoped the young man had not already done something that may compromise him.

 **Back with Peter…**

Peter was sitting in the club alone at a table, the bouncer had been quick to accept a generous offer, letting him enter the huge building with little trouble. He just sat there, trying to spot the Penguin. According to Alfred, there is supposed to be some kind of room upstairs where the fatty oversees everything.

 _So, little guy is shy? Might as well walk around and inspect the place until he shows up, might help later._

Peter stood up from his chair and walked a little, smiling. He suddenly felt his phone vibrating but as he was about to pick up he saw Cobblepot walking around innocently in the nightclub, two bodyguards behind him. He let the phone ring.

 _Time for some detective work Spidey, but don't forget the guy is not a complete idiot._

He bought a glass of Champaign and walked toward him, he raised his glasses when the little man turned his head to him.

"The great Oswald Cobblepot! It's an honor for me to meet in person the man who made this great place and makes Bruce Wayne look like a common rich boy." At the insult towards Wayne, he immediately felt his enemy's interest, as the latter made a small sign to his guards to stop them.

"That is me, and who are you young man? I never saw you around."

 _Might as well make fun of someone when you are not in the same universe hehe_.

"My name is Eugene Thompson, and you further demonstrated your knowledge. As I indeed come from Metropolis, I only came recently to Gotham."

"Why would you want to come here mate, I like your boldness, but who in their right mind would leave Metropolis to a city like this one?"

"The same reason as pretty much everyone: Money is easy to come by and most rich guys are too stupid to know when someone working for them is actually just making money off of them."

"Who do you work for?"

"I, for the moment, work as a temporary messenger for Wayne Enterprises. But I'm planning to go to something else soon." Cobblepot cringed a little but did not leave.

"And what would that be?"

"I'm underpaid for the sheer boredom I must endure. I'm looking for a job that actually requires a little action, when I was in Metropolis I worked as a field photographer. That was more interesting since I had to be in the field." Peter said as Penguin lightly chuckled with a weird sound.

"Tell ya what mate, you want a job of action, and I could make a few phone calls. Anything to remove something from Wayne. You do seem a little frail for physical work though."

"You don't need to have much muscles to be efficient anyway. You're proof of that, I mean I learned your name from some random men during one of my jobs. You seem to frighten people just by the power and influence you yield now thanks to your knowledge." Peter saw Cobblepot almost take a step back at the comment.

"Young man, I've just met you and you make more sense than most of the people I've known during my life. If you want a job, I can definitely find something for ya with me."

"That would be an honor to work with you, I'm pretty sure I would do and learn a lot more than right now. Speaking of which, I learned from the news, and from some police officers that speaks louder than a parade, that the police Commissioner's daughter is missing. With your influence you could easily find her and maybe get a reward of sort for your act. It would be more than those wannabe heroes could do." He saw him smile a little.

"You read minds young man, I am actually already doing this. I have people trying to find her right now.

As the little man said that, Peter saw one of the bodyguards whisper something to him. He suddenly extended a hand and Peter shook it.

"I must leave mate, but I hope we cross path again, I will try to see what I have." Peter turned on his heels and left after Cobblepot was out of view. He finally picked up the phone who was still ringing.

"Yeah?"

"Peter, the suit detected a spider-tracer signal." At these words Peter dashed to the exit and quickly walked away from the club. He was pretty sure the Penguin had already forgotten about him anyway.

"Barbara had a tracer, where is it?" he asked in a voice that did not sound like him.

"Apparently from the basement of the Iceberg Lounge, where are you right now?"

"Peter is gone, Spider-man is going there." He lowly said as he ran in an alley and quickly changed.

"You can't just charge like that, don't forget that even if the place is the hideout of a crime lord, it is a legal nightclub in the eyes of the law. Don't do something that could destroy Spider-man's image." Bruce continued in the mask's radio.

"You don't get to tell me what to do. I'm not stupid enough to smash the front door. Just send the signal location to me." He said in an annoyed tone. Which worried Bruce.

"Peter, what is wrong with you? Since when do you talk like that?"

"Since I'm tired of being one step behind every piece of information that comes by." A few seconds of silence and the signal appeared in his vision.

"Thanks, now, since Batman is not saving people during the day, Spider-man will do it." With these words he leapt from his roof and swung away, landing on the roof of the giant club, he made sure he was not making too much sound. He looked around while crawling on the roof, looking for any window or ventilation shaft.

 _I only need one way in, there's gotta be one…_

After he reached the other side he peeked down from the roof and saw three big guys, probably thugs disguised as bouncers, and he did not need his spider-sense to notice the guns hidden not-so-discreetly in their tux. He simply jumped in front of them, landing in a slightly crouched pose.

"Hey guys! I was just wondering if you saw a pretty girl with red hair around here?" he asked, not really expecting the trio's reaction.

 _No spider-sense, no danger. Aren't those guys thugs?_ He asked himself as his sixth sense did not warn him.

"Spider-m…"

"Don't speak too loud, I'm not supposed to be here." Peter interrupted before the guy could yell.

"Spider-man, we see a lot of people, we saw many girls with red hair. Do you have anything more precise?"

"Well if you looked at the news you'd know the Commissioner's daughter is missing." At this moment his spider-sense rang and he side-stepped just in time to evade a crowbar swing. He turned around and saw a few men, all dressed in black and white outfits.

 _That's more like it, some classical thugs that will squirm._

"You're going to regret coming in this city, bug."

"You're really going to fight a known hero behind the nightclub of Cobblepot? What would happen to his reputation? And to you?" Peter asked in a mocking voice.

"Why would we care? Once we kill you, the boss will give us anything." And with this comment, the man and his comrades charged Spider-man under the surprised looks of the three men.

 **With Bruce…**

As he heard the insult from Peter he gave the mask to Lucius and went to his car to return to the Batcave. Once he arrived he made a small sign to Alfred and they both went to the computer.

"Master Bruce, may I ask what are you doing? Batman is not supposed to be there during the day…"

"Batman can't go there himself, but he can help with a small distraction. After all, the mere mention of Batman or his allies causes panic. I don't need to be there to help Peter. He can't do this alone, he's changed. He is reckless, he is letting his feelings get in the way."

"About that sir, even if I could understand you do not want him in…" he was interrupted.

"It's not the fact his feelings are making him more reckless, that is completely normal even if it's not desirable. It's the fact he changed in a matter of hours. He was concerned before, but not arrogant. I fear the particles in his blood…Are no longer particles." He said in a grave voice while using the computer to find every single hackable camera and microphones near the Lounge. There were a few, not surprising since the place is huge and owned by a crime lord. He watched through the cameras and saw Spider-man fighting a couple of henchmen. He was not worried about Peter physically, but his image in the eyes of the public could be destroyed and the Penguin might see it. He quickly proceeded to hack and sabotage the cameras seeing the fight to prevent further attacks. He could not help but notice Peter seemed almost bored while fighting, not caring that three men watched the fight with astonished looks. He ignored it and started to hack every microphone and camera the computer could find, almost smirking as he prepared his diversion.

 **Back with Spider-man…**

Peter did not even try to jump away, he merely blocked or side-stepped everything. He was having fun putting on a show for the three guys. After the brief skirmish he picked the last man and lifted him off the ground by his collar with one hand. The three men behind him advanced and withdrew their weapons. Spider-man did not look back as his spider-sense was not warning him.

"Hero, we will call the police for these guys. That was really impressive." One of the men said.

"I try to be, you still did not answer me earlier though." He said in a somewhat grave voice.

"We swear we did not see the girl, we were waiting for a friend when you showed up."

"Hmph, fine. Call the cops, but try and stay discreet please, hide the unconscious ones while I have a chat with this one." He said before jumping away, holding the man with one hand, ignoring his cries and going back on the roof.

"Now little man, since you work for Penguin, maybe you will be nice and tell me where the girl is?" he asked mockingly while still holding him. He was enjoying his expression, and if he was not worried about Barbara, he would wonder why.

"Please don't hurt me! I don't even work for that little dwarf!"

Spider-man slightly tilted his head at this, who was he working for that wanted to kill him?

"Let's pretend that I believe you, who do you work for?"

"He'll kill me if I tell you!"

"I'm not Batman, but I could stick you to the roof and deliver you to Batman, maybe he will beat the words out of you." At this the man's eyes went wide.

"We work for Two-Face! He wants you out of the picture to prevent having to worry about another good guy. I don't know where he is now, last time we saw him we were in a hideout in the subway."

"Thanks, now you go to sleep." With these last words he punched him and got him back with the men who were busy calling the police, happy that the street was almost deserted and that the few people were either busy or did not care.

"The police will be there soon, hero."

"Who are you guys anyway?"

"We are bodyguards, well, unemployed for the moment. We were waiting for a friend that may have work for us in the Lounge but I think that's now out of the question." The man said, sounding a little disappointed.

"Tell you what guys, since you helped a little, I can try and find you some work with someone who might want bodyguards during the day. Where can I find you?"

"Thanks Spider-man, but we will surely be in the GCPD for questioning about this…"

"Don't worry, say my name, describe the fight and they'll understand." With those words he looked around and finally found out why those men were there: there was a back door.

 _Probably where their friend was supposed to come out of…good, now to find her._

He went to the locked door and opened it with ease, well for him it was easy. He walked in and closed it behind him. He found himself in a corridor that looked like crap compared to what he saw before.

 _Well Spidey, time to follow the signal. Please be okay…_

 **Elsewhere…**

Barbara was being dragged on by the Goblin, completely tied up so she could not escape. She was still afraid for Peter as she knew this maniac was extremely dangerous. In the back of her head she was still unsure about how this Green Goblin came to Gotham.

 _He knows Spider-man…So he comes from the same world, did he arrived the same way? How did he develop any kind of partnership with Cobblepot? Not even Hugo Strange was able to directly do that._

"I'm sure you are thinking about your dear hero, well I know he is coming. I'm not stupid enough to ignore the fact he works with Batman but I know he will come alone for me. This time I will win, and the doctor is next, no one manipulates me and lives long. Even if it gave me the chance to kill the spider." The Goblin said while still carrying her.

 _The doctor? Strange brought him here? How?!_ Her thoughts were interrupted by a familiar and ugly voice resonating through the hallway.

"What do you want Cobblepot?" The Goblin asked in an annoyed tone.

"I heard that you were moving the girl, why? You know the plan, we are supposed to keep her hostage until they pay us, then get rid of her. The guys are almost ready, just a few more days and…" he was interrupted by the Green Goblin, now seemingly angry.

"I think it's time I tell you this: I couldn't care less about your ransom. I only joined you because you had the means to kidnap her without compromising the knowledge of my presence here." He said while dropping Barbara and suddenly running up to the little man, grabbing him and lifting him up with seemingly no effort. "You have outlived your usefulness little brat." As he raised a fist a bunch of henchmen showed up behind the Penguin, some of them armed with various improvised weapons.

"Did you really think I would come to you without backup?" the Penguin laughed but stopped when he was thrown aside and heard the sinister laugh coming from the green-armored maniac.

"Hahahaha! You will never cease to amuse me. You actually think those simpletons are useful? You think you have any kind of power? Let me show you." With these words he threw a small orange grenade at the men who had no time to react. Penguin watched in horror as he saw a dozen of his men getting blown to bits while the maniac still laughed. Only two of them, those who were lucky enough to have someone in front of them, remained alive. The Goblin ran to them and simply kicked one, smashing him on the wall, and grabbed the other.

"You want power? Then watch." He said as he crushed the man's skull with his bare hands under the terrified look of Penguin and Barbara, the latter more disgusted than frightened. He then turned back to the Penguin and simply threw another grenade over his shoulder, killing the man on the floor in a burst of electricity, slowly turning him into a burnt body. The Goblin then walked to Cobblepot, who shook his head while crawling backward.

 _If only I could crawl…_ Barbara thought as she desperately tried to loosen her bonds, without much success. She watched as the Goblin picked up the Penguin again.

 _Even if he is a crime lord, nobody deserves to die like this._ She struggled harder, at least trying to release one arm but the bonds were too tights. Suddenly she heard some kind of alarm resonating.

"What?" The Goblin said while dropping Cobblepot and looking at a monitor on the wall. When he saw his arch-enemy running in a hallway he took a step back.

"How did he... No matter, I should have known, he is smart after all." The Goblin almost growled before quickly picking up Barbara and walking away. "To the bridge now." He said while leaving.

The Penguin got up and ran away in the other direction whipping his phone out and calling his men, he had every intention to kill him but realized something after a few minutes.

 _He is taking the girl and seems to want the spider…That means the spider knows the girl and probably care about her…maybe I can evade his wrath._ Penguin thought while not noticing Spider-man before being pulled by a web and landing in Spider-man's grip.

"Well little bird, we meet again. And there's no one to help you this time. Where's. The. Girl?" Peter asked in a threatening tone, surprised that the little man seemed to be in bad shape.

"What happened to you?"

"Funny you should ask, since the guy who did this to me is also the one who took the commissioner's daughter. I can tell you where he is going and who he is, if you let me go." Cobblepot asked, knowing he had the hero's attention.

"I'm listening."

"Last time I saw him he wanted to go to a bridge."

Peter almost had a heart attack when he heard "bridge" in the sentence.

"He calls himself "Green Goblin", what kind of name is that?" Cobblepot added.

"He is far more dangerous than you can imagine, I must stop him."

"Since I helped you, can you let me go this time? You may save her life thanks to me…"

Peter thought about it for a second then put him down.

"I don't have time to deal with you, see you later." He then ran back to the door he came from and quickly started to swing away, going as fast as he could to the nearest bridge, hoping he would arrive in time.

 **With Bruce…**

Bruce could see most of what was going on, thanks to the cameras, and he did not like what he saw.

 _I have trouble imagining what a madman like this could do to Barbara. No more time to lose._

"Alfred, I will send the Batwing to assist Peter, this madman has too many advantages right now, we need to limit his options. What are the whereabouts of Nightwing?"

"He is currently in Blüdhaven, sir. I am afraid we cannot count on him right away."

"Then it is up to Batman to help." He said as he walked up to his Batsuit.

"Sir! What are you thinking? You cannot fight against this man." Alfred declared. "He is…"

"Stop, Alfred" Bruce interrupted. "I am not going to fight the Goblin, I am going to assist indirectly, I know my limits and giving Peter another reason to worry is not my goal. I have no doubts he can fight him, but if what I'm thinking is right, I may be able to sabotage some of the Goblin's equipment, at least enough to give Peter an edge. And hopefully I'll be able to recover Barbara so Peter can fight without worrying about her."

After those words he quickly put the suit and walked towards the Bat-shaped jet.

 _I know it is not my fight, but I will save Barbara. I have faced greater danger than this man._

 **With Spider-man…**

Peter was swinging as fast as he could after the Goblin, his trail was not hard to follow. He just followed the smoke trail that the glider left behind it.

 _Please don't let it happen again…_

Every second that passed made Peter even more anxious. For painful minutes the air remained silent until he heard the most dreaded thing: His laugh on the distance. He looked up and saw a bridge, looking a lot like the bridge of his nightmares, with the glider flying in circles over it.

As he landed on a building, he saw the glider land on the top of the bridge. He quickly shot two webs on nearby buildings and slung himself toward the bridge. What he heard when he landed on the side of it paralyzed him.

"Hahahahaha! Finally decided to show up to the repetition? You truly like to suffer…"

Spider-man quickly climbed to the top and saw Norman facing him on the other end of the overpass, Barbara behind him.

"Leave her out of this Goblin, this is between us."

"You really think I'm going to miss a chance to make you live it again? Have you ever wondered if it was YOUR fault? After all, you did catch her quite abruptly with your web…" The Goblin answered, laughing softly.

From Peter's perspective, all he wanted right now was to strangle him, but he could not risk it, yet.

"No, you killed her. You killed her like you killed hundreds of people, like you almost killed your son." Peter responded.

"Hahaha, you really think you are going to bring Norman out by using Harry's name?"

As he was about to answer, Peter heard a voice.

 _You need me…Let me help you…_

Before he could grasp who was the voice, his spider-sense made him dodge a razor disc and he went in a fighting stance.

"You want to fight? It's time to get you off the street, maybe this world's prison is a bit more cautious." Peter said to keep his calm.

"I've been waiting for this for a long time…" Norman answered while jumping on his glider.

Both were ready to fight but as the glider advanced on Peter, a weird blue projectile collided with the glider, causing it to fly in the wrong direction.

 _No time to try to understand…_ Peter thought before launching himself on the glider, starting a fight that could be his last. Both fighters unaware of the small plane over them…

* * *

Phew! After so long I finally got the time to continue. The story goes on, it is not over, far from it. Leave a review it always help! See you in the next chapter.


End file.
